


City of Secrets

by Arcaia



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, I Tried, Identity Reveal, Idk what i'm doing, Original Character(s), Peacock Miraculous, Rating for Language, Some Fluff, Takes place after season 1, mostly plot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-26
Updated: 2016-07-04
Packaged: 2018-07-10 06:59:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 21,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6971857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arcaia/pseuds/Arcaia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There's a new girl in class near the end of the school year. Renee had moved to Paris just to see real superheroes with her own two eyes, but all it takes is a close call with an akuma for her to stumble upon one of the city's many secrets.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

“Marinette, what's wrong?”

The blue-eyed girl was jolted into full wakefulness by Alya's sudden comment. “It's fine, really. I'm just… tired.” Marinette couldn't count the number of times she had to withhold the truth from her best friend because of her secret double life. Although lies and part-truths had become second-nature to her, she still was plagued with guilt somewhere deep inside.

Now, in class, Marinette should have been taking notes, but she had been carried away by her own personal questions, questions that she couldn't simply ask Alya. Questions about her miraculous, and all of the miraculous stones for that matter. She quickly pretended to be fully focused on the lesson to avoid further questioning from Alya.

The day before, she had visited the wise Master Fu to deliver him the book of the miraculous. Although the mysterious old man had introduced her to his kwami, Wayzz, and reassured her that he had chosen wisely in giving her the Ladybug earrings, he hadn't said much else. Now, questions that she should have been thinking of long before were burning in her mind. What about Hawkmoth's miraculous? How had he gotten his hands on it? Exactly how many miraculous were there, and what powers did they hold? How many of these questions could Tikki answer? Why would her kwami keep secrets from her, if she really did have answers? It wasn't like she could ask the kwami now, in the middle of class. Since when was she even the curious type?

Resigning to her lack of knowledge, Marinette actually began to pay attention to the lesson. Her finals were in only a few weeks, and she was pretty certain they weren't on superheroes or ancient magical jewelry.

 

* * *

 

 

“You still looking for that old book?” Plagg lounged on the couch, eating away at his daily serving of Camembert. “It's lost; just give it a rest.”

“You don't understand.” Adrien searched his room desperately, finally sitting on the bed, planting his face in his hands. “I've searched the park, the school, and my own house, but that book is nowhere to be found. I'm pretty sure Lila must have stolen it and hidden it somewhere. If my father finds out that I somehow got into his hidden safe, it'll be back to being a prisoner in my own house for sure, or worse. He'll notice it's gone any day now.”

“You can always sneak out as Chat Noir even if you're not going to school, and your finals are coming up anyway. Don't you humans have no school during the summer?”

Adrien sighed, then sat up at his late realization. Summer vacation really was coming soon. What would he do then? Would he still be able to hang out with his friends? How would his schedule change?

At least he would still have Ladybug. Summer or not, he still had to fight villains alongside her. He had to keep her safe.

 

* * *

 

 

It was gone. For the first time in several months, Gabriel Agreste felt real worry. Someone had discovered his most hidden safe. Someone had broken into his most hidden safe. His book was missing, as if it had just disappeared. For some reason, it seemed that everything else in the safe remained completely untouched. The peacock. Mr. Agreste sighed with relief to find that the blue-green brooch still laid against the portrait of its former owner. But it was no longer safe in the place from which his book had been stolen. Clutching the miraculous and the portrait to his chest, the man filled with determination. He had to hide where it would never be found.


	2. Renee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new girl named Renee joins the class.

Marinette actually made it to class on time that day. It was strange for her to come upon the rare combination of lack of akuma attacks and restful sleep, but Marinette had achieved it on the first Monday of the review weeks for the upcoming finals.

“During your final weeks at school, I would like to welcome a new guest to your class,” announced Miss Bustier. “She will attend class with you to see if she wants to officially join your class next school year and will also participate in projects and exams. Meet Renee Finais.”

The new girl cautiously stumbled into the classroom, her eyes wide to take in the whole class before her. The eyes were a startling navy blue, almost black, providing the effect of her eyes seeming to draw in all light like tiny black holes. Her net of long, untamed hair was equally dark, its slight blue glint causing it to perfectly match her eyes. Her clothing contrasted her dark eyes and hair, displaying much brighter shades of blue, green, and red. Her style of clothing lacked any real sense of fashion, which was odd for a Parisian.

“Hi,” Renee managed, waving awkwardly.

Most of the students waved back without a word.

“Let's hope this goes better than it did with Lila,” Marinette muttered under her breath. At least Lila had been put in a different class.

“There's an empty spot next to Nathanael for you, Renee.” Miss Bustier gestured to the back row, and Renee quickly slid into her new seat.

“Why don't you tell the class something about yourself so you won't seem like such a stranger?” suggested Ms. Bustier.

“Let's see, I moved to Paris only a week ago, all the way from Marseille,” Renee started.

“Why did you move here?” Rose blurted curiously. The whole class save Chloe and Sabrina was facing her at this point.

“I moved because… my life has always been nothing but boredom and sadness for so long. Then, while browsing the internet, I by chance happened upon this site called the Ladyblog, and as I read, I realized that Paris must be my true home. My life can finally be exciting here! Are there really real life superheroes?”

“Yep,” answered Adrien with a grin, and Renee's eyes widened.

"Paris is so cool," she murmured.

The genuine excitement in the girl's eyes was oddly touching to Marinette. Too bad Renee was still only seeing Paris through a rose-tinted glass. She would probably learn the hard way that akuma attacks are not all thrill and awesomeness.

Alya had an entirely different view on Renee's statement. “My blog is the reason you moved!?” She stared, awed, at Renee. “I didn't know there were others who loved our heroes so much!”

“So you're the one who runs that blog? It's so awesome!”

“Calm yourselves. I know that some of you are excited, but that can wait until after class,” said Miss Bustier.

Renee's open mouth clamped shut and remained that way for the rest of the class.

 

* * *

 

 

When Marinette finally found a chance to talk to her best friend after school, Alya immediately asked, “What are your thoughts on that new girl? Did you see that look in her eyes? And she's only seen my blog! Imagine the look on her face when she sees Ladybug or Chat Noir in person!”

“It looks like someone's going to have a new friend,” commented Marinette. “You two have so much in common.”

“You have some things in common with her too, though. Let's see… you have the same hair color.”

“But I'm a fashion designer, and it's clear that fashion is the last thing on Renee's mind.”

“Well, that's true.”

As Adrien and Nino passed, Marinette made sure to watch her footing on the steps; she wasn't in the mood to stumble down into Adrien's arms again. Sighing with relief once she made it safely down the steps, Marinette ran down the street toward the bakery.

“You know that avoiding Adrien like that is going to get you nowhere,” Tikki reminded her once she was a good distance from the school.

“You keeping your secrets from me will get me nowhere,” Marinette responded. “You won't even tell me one thing about the history of the Miraculous.”

“That's not something you need to know until you're older.” Tikki had already said that same thing four times now, and Marinette was ready to give up asking. She had been doing fine without those answers for long enough to realize that the kwami was right. She really didn't need to know; she was just being irrational. "If this makes you feel better, I have a few dangerous secrets about the miraculous that I've never told to any of my Ladybugs for their own good." Marinette didn't know how to respond to that comment, so she didn't.

Marinette hurried into her room to hopefully finish her homework before her patrol with Chat. She honestly couldn't wait until summer break. Maybe there would be enough time for nightly patrols rather than merely every other day. Despite the fact that Chat Noir's puns and flirting aggravated her to no end, he was a good partner and friend, and it would be nice to see him every night. Lots of things would be nice without school.

 

* * *

 

 

By the next morning, Marinette was determined to continue her lucky streak of showing up for all of her classes, but it seemed that Hawkmoth had other plans.

As she ran out of the bakery, her gaze set on the school, the sound of chaos and destruction turned her gaze to the other side of town, where an akuma villain was undoubtedly wreaking havoc.

“I guess I'm not getting a long lucky streak,” she grumbled, ducking into an alley. “Tikki, transform me!”

 

* * *

 

After a frustrating half-hour, Marinette finally rushed into school, panting heavily. This villain had been particularly exhausting. What excuse would she have for being almost ready to collapse?

While she stood just outside the classroom, thinking, none other than Adrien rushed by into class in front of her.

“What excuse do you have this time, Mr. Agreste?” asked Ms. Bustier.

“I was… doing an early morning photoshoot!” Adrien blurted. “Then an akuma attacked and delayed me from getting to class.”

The teacher seemed to be buying it, but Marinette, who had practically memorized Adrien's schedule, was 90% sure that he was lying, at least about the photoshoot. Early morning photoshoots weren't anywhere on his schedule. She didn't dwell on it, using the distraction Adrien had caused to discreetly slip toward her seat without having to make an excuse of her own.

Looking over toward her seat, Marinette realized someone else was sitting in her place next to Alya. Renee.

Spotting Marinette, Renee's dark eyes went wide. “I- uh- just thought I could keep Alya company while you were gone. I'm not stealing your best friend or anything; I'm so sorry for taking your seat…” she slunk toward the back row, muttering 'sorry' with every step.

Marinette watched the scene with confusion; she had never accused Renee of 'stealing her best friend.'

“It's fine,” Alya assured her when she finally sat down. “We were just fangirling over Ladybug together while the teacher wasn't looking. Can you believe Ms. Bustier wouldn't let me leave when I got a notification for this morning's akuma attack? Renee was pretty bummed about it as well; she still hasn't seen an akuma battle in person. I wish I could just get to class late and come up with incredible excuses like you.”

Groaning, Marinette lowered her head. If Alya knew her excuses were ridiculous lies, how come she hadn't yet figured out the truth?

 

* * *

 

It was almost lunch time when the teacher decided to assign the last group projects of the school year. “The actual content of this project will be easier than previous projects...” she began.

The class looked up hopefully.

“...but,” she continued, “the groups of three will be chosen randomly, the only catch being that you cannot be in the same group as your desk partner. This should help you learn to work with anyone, not just your close friends.”

The class groaned, especially Marinette. “With my luck, I'll be stuck with Chloe again,” she muttered under her breath.

“Nino, you will be paired with Max and Mylene, and Alya, you will work with Nathanael and Chloe.”

Marinette hadn't been stuck with Chloe, but her best friend had. Things could never be perfect, Alya's groan reminded her.

“Marinette,” the teacher continued, “you will work with Renee...” she paused for a second, giving Marinette a chance to glance back at the new girl with a friendly smile.

“… and Adrien,” the teacher finished.

Marinette froze. She was going to work with Adrien! How could she possibly get any work done with him around? He would have to do most of the work- she couldn't do that to him; what would she do? She finally had an excuse to hang out with him, and she would ruin it, and the project as well. How could she work with him when she couldn't even talk properly to him?

Her negativity was pushed away when Adrien turned toward her, giving her a friendly smile. Marinette had been so stunned by it that she didn't even pay attention to who was in the other groups or to the details of the project, instead staring at the back of his head for the remainder of class.

As everyone left the classroom for lunch, Adrien stopped her by placing a hand on her shoulder.

“Hey, I'll meet you at your house to work on the project after my fencing and Chinese lessons, if that's okay with you.”

Marinette whirled around to face him, trying her best to speak coherently. “Y- yes! Of course! That's fantastic- you're fantastic- I mean, that's fine, yes you can come over.”

As Adrien gave her a confused glance, Renee approached the two of them. “I'll be there too, when I can. Marinette, what's your address?”

Writing her address on a slip of paper, Marinette took her mind off of Adrien while she glanced at Renee. The new girl still appeared to be uncomfortable around Marinette; she was probably still worrying over borrowing her seat that morning. The poor girl probably truly felt bad about it; she must really not want to make anyone unhappy.

“Hey, Renee,” said Marinette, handing her the paper slip with her address on it, “Everything's fine. Don't worry, I don't hate you.”

Their eyes met, and without a word, Renee nodded subtly, taking the paper slip and heading off to lunch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the actual first chapter. Renee is basically me personality-wise, with a few differences. Also Marinette's questioning of miraculous history does seem a bit ooc to me, but I wanted to write it anyway because sometimes Mari doesn't ask enough questions in life.


	3. Mirra

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Renee had been running so fast, thinking of nothing but the akuma, that she almost face-planted into a large tree. Stopping herself just in time, Renee just stared at the tree before her. The plant was so massive – how had she not seen it coming? It was almost as if it had simply popped into existence in front of her to block her path. It didn't look like any other tree she had seen before, was positioned in the middle of an otherwise empty clearing, and was also much larger than what she was used to. At the bottom, it was covered in a thick layer of vines but otherwise had normal, brown bark. Nearer to the ends of the branches, the bark acquired a faint reddish hue and was crawling with brighter red dots that moved across its surface. Wait, not moving dots, ladybugs… hundreds of ladybugs.

Lunch for Renee was a boring part of the day, not because she didn't enjoy eating but because her selection of food was still quite limited, considering she had just moved into the area.

While her mind was on the topic of moving, she was reminded of her gratitude toward her new class for not inquiring further on why she had moved. Of course the things she had seen on Alya's Ladyblog had been a major factor, but then there were… much more personal matters, things she couldn't bring herself just casually say to an entire group.

Renee had honestly felt bad for her 'family' ever since they had noticed her immense disappointment when they told her she was adopted – adopted was not even the right word; her real parents had either lost her or abandoned her, and she had been found as a baby that could barely crawl, crying in a grimy, salty alley near the seaside in Marseille. Just simply fathoming that that had really happened to her made her uncomfortable; she lately had even begun to have nightmares about it. Her adopted parents really tried their best to make her happy, which is why Renee made sure to conceal her disappointment that she didn't really share their blood.

Renee's stepmother had deduced that the girl evidently had east Asian blood and had more recently found out that the clothes baby Renee had been wearing when she was found were from Paris on the same day Renee had discovered the Ladyblog. That coincidence had convinced the both of them that they needed to move.

Now Renee was in Paris, wondering when she could see superheroes in action or even if her true parents really lived here.

“Wow, Sabrina, just look at what she's wearing this time!” A condescending voice from nearby caught Renee's attention. “I wonder where she could have even gotten horrid clothing like that!”

Renee turned to see a tall blonde girl glancing at her disdainfully, a petite redhead by her side. She vaguely recognized the girls as Chloe and Sabrina from class. “Why are you talking about someone's clothes?” she asked them.

The girls laughed – it was not a happy, carefree laugh, but a disdainful one – and Chloe spoke. “Because your clothing couldn't have possibly come from anywhere more formal than a dumpster in an alley.”

Renee's mind didn't even process the direct insult, as the word 'alley' immediately brought forth vivid visions from Renee's nightmares about her time when she was alone, as a helpless baby, crawling through filth, looking for her mother, and, not finding her, bawling helplessly. Renee didn't even remember it, but the visions of it had only become more vivid as she aged.

“Did she just pass out?” Chloe's sharp voice pulled Renee back into the real world.

“Maybe it was the stench from her jacket.” Sabrina giggled.

As she stood up, Renee was too stunned to think of any form of comeback, so she simply stood awkwardly, trying to move away from the pair but bumping into the chair behind her, causing her to fall again.

Chloe laughed. “You have a long way to go before you can even think of being a true member of my class. I've never seen someone as pathetic as you since Marinette.”

Renee was frozen in place, completely unable to retaliate. That bitch had just invoked her worst nightmares, and now she was laughing. Renee was sure that the other kids in this class had already gotten used to Chloe and could handle her with relative ease, but Chloe was right about her. She was just a newbie, not even close to becoming a part of her new class. She couldn't even tolerate anything that slightly reminded her of her babyhood nightmares. She was truly pathetic.

Squinting, squeezing the tears out of her eyes, Renee bolted out of the school, leaving her bag and lunch behind. She was too distraught for those things to matter. All that mattered was to hide herself and deal with her grief alone and undisturbed, probably in a dirty alley where she belonged.

 

* * *

 

 

Now in the more suburban part of Paris, Renee curled up beside a tree. She tried her best to think happy thoughts; this place was much more pleasant than the bustling seaside town she had come from. She wasn't feeling any more positive, though. As she was lowering her head, she caught a movement of something small and dark in her peripheral vision. Renee turned her head upward; her distorted vision allowed her to make out the shape of a splotchy dark purple insect, a butterfly? Renee's subsequent gasp ended in a shrill cry. An akuma. According to the Ladyblog, akumas were the creatures that transformed Paris' citizens into the villains that Ladybug and Chat Noir fought. The thought of being corrupted, manipulated, transformed – it instilled a fear in Renee so great that it outweighed even her sadness.

Now fully alert, Renee bolted up and ran away from the akuma; she ran so fast that she was downright shocked such a speed was even possible for her. Her grief was almost forgotten as fear took control, filling her with an uncanny amount of energy.

Renee had been running so fast, thinking of nothing but the akuma, that she almost face-planted into a large tree. Stopping herself just in time, Renee just stared at the tree before her. The plant was so massive – how had she not seen it coming? It was almost as if it had simply popped into existence in front of her to block her path. It didn't look like any other tree she had seen before, was positioned in the middle of an otherwise empty clearing, and was also much larger than what she was used to. At the bottom, it was covered in a thick layer of vines but otherwise had normal, brown bark. Nearer to the ends of the branches, the bark acquired a faint reddish hue and was crawling with brighter red dots that moved across its surface. Wait, not moving dots, ladybugs… hundreds of ladybugs.

The akuma. Renee prepared to run again, only to realize she was simply too exhausted to continue. Akuma or not, the poor girl could run no further. Leaning against the vines that covered the tree's trunk in defeat, Renee realized too late that there was a hidden opening beneath them. She fell forward, right through the vines and into the hollow trunk. Pulling her legs behind the cover of the vines and curling up into the hollow, Renee accepted her defeat, her only hope being that the akuma would not find her in her hiding spot.

Finally, Renee's misery from before hit again at full force. With a choked sob, Renee allowed her restless hands to explore the space, hopelessly seeking something cool so they could let out their heat. As her right hand darted into a small pocket in the hollow, Renee felt something smooth like metal, but not exactly cold. Renee drew the hand back to her; it now held a medium pin in the shape of a peacock's tail. The reason why such a fine piece of jewelry would end up in a place like this eluded her, but she was too distraught to notice the even stranger things, like how the pin seemed to let off a small amount of its own heat, or how it remained so pristine despite being in such a dusty place.

“Why am I overreacting like this,” she whispered between sobs, clutching her new find to her chest. “Jerks are everywhere, and I should learn to deal with them, but I can't. And I don't even have a friend to support me because I have nothing to offer and nobody would want to be my friend. And I'm just going to ruin everyone's lives because I can't stop evil people when I have the chance.” Renee stopped crying as her mind processed the words she had just spoken. That last sentence had seemed so… out of place, and she hadn't been thinking quite like that. _'Can't stop evil people when I have the chance'?_ That thought wasn't her own. But if it wasn't hers, whose was it?

A spontaneous flare of heat in Renee's hand captured her attention. Drawing the closed fist away from her chest, Renee opened it, exposing the now hot jewel to the air. Almost immediately, it erupted with energy, and a deep blue glowing orb formed directly above it. Renee reflexively pulled her head back in surprise but took care not to drop the pin. The orb faded, and a small blue and green shape dropped onto her hand.

For a fleeting moment, there was no sound, just two huge dark brown beady eyes gazing into Renee's. Then the creature yelped, curling itself defensively around the jewel in the teen's hand and whimpering. Through the whining noise, Renee could clearly hear it speak. “Please, leave me alone! I've already ruined enough people's lives; I won't let myself ruin yours.”

Renee subtly pinched herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming, before saying, “I – no, I mean, I don't even know what's going on, or what you even are, but please…” Renee stammered, almost unable to form proper words in front of the strange creature. “...You seem so sad; let me help you – it's not like my life could be more ruined than it already is.”

At that last statement, the creature raised its ridiculously large head and opened its eyes once again, allowing itself to levitate about an inch above Renee's hand. Awe filled the teen's eyes as plumed wings and a fan-shaped tail slowly unwrapped themselves from the creature's stubby limbs, and the plumes atop its head straightened into a peacock-like crest. Finally, it spoke again. “You weren't chosen. But you have the energy of a chosen.”

“Chosen? What are you talking about? You haven't even told me what you are!”

“I'm a kwami, well, a failure of a kwami.” It looked down again.

“What do you mean, a failure? What could've happened to you to make you think like this?”

“You don't understand! I should have admitted my suspicions about that man before it was too late! Then when my chosen escaped, I was torn from her, and that awful man became even worse! Before I could free myself from his control… he forced me to draw out Nooroo - he enslaved Nooroo… now I'm free from him, but what difference does it make? Nooroo is being used for evil, and she is lost...”

“I don't know what you're talking about, or who Nooroo is… but please, let me help! I'm having a hard time too, you know.” She held out her free hand toward the kwami, causing it to zip back a couple inches.

“Please, you'll be better off if you just put down my miraculous, leave, and forget about this. I'll ruin your pleasant, normal life if you try to help me. Don't worry, another hundred years and I'll get over this.”

Miraculous… another hundred years… the words formed a puzzle in Renee's head that she didn't have time to solve. “No-” she said, “I mean, I don't care if you think you'll ruin my life; I can't leave you here all alone and sad. You may not even be human, but I can tell that you need a friend… and I do too.”

The kwami moved closer to the girl's face, a glimmer of hope in its eyes. “O… okay, if you're really willing to to take care of my miraculous.” It pointed down to the pin still in Renee's palm. “It's a lot of responsibility. You can't let anyone take it from you.”

Renee brought the jewel closer to her. “I will.” She paused. “Why don't we introduce ourselves. I'm Renee.”

“Mirra,” responded the kwami, still looking a bit nervous.

“Please don't be sad or worried,” said Renee. “I don't mean any ill toward you.”

“Sorry,” said Mirra, “it's just that… you weren't chosen, and I wasn't sure if I could trust you.”

“Can you explain what you mean by 'chosen'? I'm ready to listen.”

“The Grand Master, or the chosen of Wayzz, is usually the one to select the chosen ones. He hands out miraculous stones to worthy souls in times of need. I normally only emerge from my miraculous for my chosen, but there's just something about you...”

Renee squealed slightly as Mirra, now with far more energy than before, zipped upward from her palm, propelled by nothing but 'magic,' and settled down atop her head.

“You have the blood of the chosen,” Mirra murmured.

“You mean you know who my real parents are?” Renee flinched back, dislodging Mirra from her hair.

“No, no, it's just… your energy reminds me of some very great miraculous wielders I once knew… primarily Tikki's chosen. You're descended from some of the great Ladybugs of ages past.”

“Well I don't care if I'm descended from one of these 'chosen' or not; I'm not going to let fate decide what happens to me and to you, not after you've clearly been used and abused. I honestly have no idea what exactly is going on with kwamis and chosen ones and miraculous stones; all I know is that you need help. Chosen or not, I feel like I must help you if I can.”

Before the kwami could respond, something small, dark, and persistent pushed its way through the vines that hid the hollow. The akuma had found her.

Mirra froze in the air, her dark eyes wide and focused on the vile butterfly, which silently fluttered right over to Renee, landing on the watch that adorned her wrist. As the akuma began to melt into the gadget, Mirra rushed over, laying one of her tiny 'arms' on it, and her teal-colored energy began to spread.

After a few moments, the akuma popped out of the watch, flapping its wings restlessly. A tap from the kwami, and the same energy passed over the akuma itself before it flew out through the vines.

“What did you do?” asked Renee, stunned by the short moment the akuma had been bound to her.

“Having a miraculous can protect you from akumas, but only to a certain extent. If you were still feeling horrible, driving it out would have been much harder.”

“But what did you do to it just before it left?”

“I liberated it from Hawkmoth's control. It was the best I could do, since I can't purify them. That akuma will still be able to infect a person with negative emotions and give them superpowers, but Hawkmoth will have no control over that person.”

“So your power is freedom?” asked Renee.

“In a sense,” responded Mirra. “Independence is a greater power than you might initially think.”

“If you're so free, then let's get out of this cramped hole.” Attaching the peacock tail pin to her jacket, Renee pushed the vines aside and crawled back out into the open, gratefully taking in the fresh air. The buzzing of the hundreds of ladybugs above filled her ears again.

Of course; she had forgotten that the tree was just as odd on the outside as it was on the inside. “I've seen bees flock to trees like this before, but never ladybugs.”

“This is a special tree,” stated Mirra, “that holds miraculous energy. Its magic normally prevents anyone but a miraculous wielder from seeing or getting close to it.”

“It seems I was so scared of that akuma earlier that I broke through the magic barrier,” Renee joked, but Mirra looked serious.

“Emotion so strong that it neglected miraculous energy,” the kwami breathed, “and this is no ordinary magic plant. It was deliberately planted and fashioned by the goddess of creation herself tens of thousands of years ago. That's why her representative animal, the ladybug, is drawn to it.”

“Hey Mirra, I see that you're getting all philosophical about this tree, and I kinda am too, but I just realized that I need to get back to school; I've already missed part of my class. I also have a feeling that I shouldn't walk back into class with a weird floating fairy thing by my side.”

“Oh yeah, you're one of those young humans. No problem. I can just hide in here. Don't worry about me,” Mirra squeaked nervously, zipping into Renee's backpack.

With the shy kwami out of sight, Renee allowed her mind to go over everything that had just happened.

One week ago, Renee, an excited fangirl who wanted nothing more than to see real superheroes, had officially moved into Paris and helped set up her home there. Yesterday, she had joined the class that she would probably be stuck with next school year. One hour ago, her fear had driven her through the magic barrier of a magic tree and allowed her to make the find of her life, and now, with every step she took back toward her school, ready to take on the jerk Chloe, she could almost feel the true power and weight of the jewel she now bore: a miraculous stone that she now realized was probably of the same type as the jewels that contained the powers of Paris' heroes themselves, the ones that Hawkmoth was always after. She didn't forget that there was also a magical peacock fairy curled up in her backpack like they had known each other for months. And it was still only a little past noon. What a day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here's your actual plot. IDK I just really wanted to write an insecure kwami for some reason and I also like adding lore that I will probably never touch upon again. Also Chloe is a big jerk, but I also really want to write a redemption arc for her so I might a lot later on in the story.


	4. Constructor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette is shocked when Renee returns to class not as an angry supervillain, but her regular old self. Unfortunately, her luck can only go so far.

“Where's Renee?” Marinette finally asked Alya quietly when she had the chance. The new girl had been noticeably absent from class for the past hour.

“Oh, I saw it all,” explained Alya quickly. "Chloe was being a brat like usual, but then she said something that made Renee go all crazy, like, an even bigger reaction to Chloe than the usual. The poor girl ran off crying, and I haven't seen her since.”

Marinette's stomach sank. If Renee hadn't been akumatized yet, it was bound to happen within the next thirty minutes. Chloe had already gotten so many people akumatized that it wouldn't be a surprise, but it would be a big disappointment for the girl to see Ladybug and Chat Noir for the first time as a villain who wanted their miraculous stones. It would also be a disappointment for Ladybug, who wanted a pleasant afternoon of study as a civilian at the time, not a second battle in one day.

“Hey guys, I'm back,” a familiar voice called as the door opened.

Shock crossed Marinette's mind. Renee had just entered, not only free of villainous powers, but wearing a cheery smile as if she hadn't ran away crying just a couple of hours ago.

“Ugh, don't get your dirty clothes near me; you'll ruin my cookies,” snapped Chloe as Renee passed her. The fact that Chloe had bribed the teachers into letting her eat her 'premium' chocolate chip cookies in class plainly showed how spoiled she was.

Chloe's rude comment did not sway Renee's grin as she calmly settled down beside Nathanael, eager to learn.

“I wonder what happened with her,” said Alya.

“I'll be sure to ask her when we meet after class to work on the project,” Marinette reassured her.

“Teacher, pause the class!” Chloe snapped spontaneously. “One of my cookies disappeared! Who would dare to steal one of my cookies!?” She turned her head back, sending a poisonous glare to everyone in the room.

“Chloe, you aren't even supposed to have those in class,” commented Nino, “and you still have like ten left. Chill.”

“Nobody shall just get away with this without facing the consequences.” Her glare focused on Renee. “You. You took my cookie as you were walking by.”

“What? First you attack me at lunch, now this?” Renee protested. “Do you even have a soul?”

Marinette felt like stepping in to resolve the pointless conflict when a quick movement at the edge of her vision caught her attention. As she focused on the area, Marinette could see that another cookie was now missing from Chloe's box.

When Chloe herself noticed this as well, she turned to Sabrina, the only other person close enough to have taken it. “Are you taking my cookies?”

“No, Chloe, I swear, it wasn't a student. I saw it; it was like an evil pixie.” Sabrina waved her hands in front of her.

“Yeah, right,” commented Alix. “Those cookies obviously tried to get as far away from Chloe as possible when she looked away. That's what happened way back when she lost her dumb bracelet, right?”

As Chloe growled aggressively, the teacher attempted to calm them. “Now, class, let's calm down and continue the lesson. You'll probably want to take notes for the upcoming exams.”

“Hey, the special designer pen I got from Chloe is missing,” complained Sabrina.

Marinette narrowed her eyes. Items, specifically items belonging to Chloe and Sabrina, were mysteriously disappearing… probably an akuma, considering that Chloe had been a target of so many akuma victims prior. But she needed to investigate to be sure. Fortunately, Chloe's tantrums about the vanishing items gave her the chance to slip out of the classroom unnoticed except by the boy who followed behind her, separating from her as the two headed to their respective bathrooms to transform.

 

* * *

 

By the time Ladybug was on the scene, Chloe's tablet had disappeared, and the girl had taken her whining to the principal himself, who claimed that he could not do anything about it unless someone specific was proven guilty. Marinette knew that would probably be pointless; with akumas, it was never really the possessed person's fault, and any problems caused could be fixed by her Miraculous Cure.

“Ladybug! You're here!” exclaimed Chloe, dashing toward her. “Can you please get my stuff back, I might miss a few questions on my test if I can't get my notes back. Please help!”

Ladybug rolled her eyes. Dealing with akumas was one thing, but dealing with Chloe Bourgeois was a completely different thing, especially when the girl seemed to cause almost half of all akuma attacks.

“I'll try my best to help,” she eventually said aloud. “I just have to find out where the akumatized victim is.” Ignoring whatever else Chloe might say or do, Ladybug made her way to the main entrance of the school, searching for anything suspicious. The closest thing she saw to suspicious was a certain alley cat seemingly with the same goal as her. Alya must have posted a report of the strange happenings on the Ladyblog for him to see.

“Have you made any more progress than I have?” she asked, cutting to the chase.

“I'm afraid not, my lady. This seems to be one of the less blatant attacks. I'm not sure how well we will be able to fight a sneaky foe like this.”

Ladybug was about to respond when she heard a familiar voice, speaking quietly but near enough for her to hear. “Ohmygosh they're really here at my school but they're trying to help Chloe what kind of person would do that...” the voice trailed off when the girl realized that the two heroes were both staring right at her.

“Re- I mean hello, stranger, I haven't seen you around before, but you seem even more excited about me than that girl Alya. Are you her new accomplice?”

“Well, sorta, maybe… uh… Renee. I mean, my name… it's Renee... but I just wanted to tell you that- I- uh...” Renee dissolved into a stammering mess as bad as Marinette would be if Adrien were to ask her out. “I- I found something that might- er- interest you,” the girl finally managed. The girl attempted to smile at Ladybug, but her face seemed clouded with an unexpected look, not embarrassment but guilt.

“And what was it that you found?” asked Chat. “I am paw-sitively curious.”

As Ladybug groaned, Renee, somehow ignoring the awful pun, cautiously inched over toward a staircase and gestured to the small area beneath the lowest stair, where a tablet, a pen, and a cookie were neatly stacked.

“Chloe and Sabrina's lost items,” observed Ladybug. _'Minus one cookie,'_ she added mentally.

“Yeah, now Chloe can have her stuff back, and I can go back to class, and nobody has to worry about it.” Renee forced a smile, Ladybug could tell, and it was now crystal clear that the dark-haired girl's underlying expression was guilt. As Marinette, Ladybug had seen that Renee clearly couldn't have been the one who had taken the items, so why else would she feel guilty?

Ladybug shook off the thought. “Why don't you take those back to Chloe, then?” she suggested to Renee.

Nodding silently, Renee scooped up the items before running off toward her classroom.

“Maybe it wasn't an akuma after all,” Ladybug said to Chat with a sigh of relief.

“It was, however, a great excuse to spend a little more time with you, my lady,” her partner commented.

“Just a little more time,” Ladybug affirmed, preparing to leave, when a loud metal clang stopped her in her tracks. Her vision moved toward the source of the noise, which seemed to be somewhere down the road, as more clangs resonated from it, followed by the distinctive evil laugh of a supervillain and several screams.

“Maybe a lot more time,” corrected Chat, drawing his baton.

“Let's go.” Ladybug cast out her yo-yo; her determination to make this fight quick and easy driving her every move.

 

* * *

 

Renee decided to help Alya get her footage for the Ladyblog. To be honest, the blogger really did need a friend by her side during her more dangerous endeavors, not just a friend like Marinette who seemed to never take any risks and wouldn't be caught anywhere near an akuma fight. That way, if the villain, this time a bulky construction worker wielding a giant hammer, was to make a specifically dangerous move, Renee could keep a look out to alert her new friend, while Alya kept a close eye on the footage she was streaming to her blog.

It wasn't just about Alya; Renee had still never seen Ladybug and Chat Noir in battle yet. This was a good way to distract herself from that stupid thing she had done at school. How could she have known that Chloe would overreact so much over the disappearance of two cookies and a couple pages of notes?

“You know it was my fault as much as it was yours,” Mirra muttered from Renee's bag, easily able to tell that Renee was still dwelling on the incident. “And to be honest, Chloe didn't deserve to get those things back.”

“Well, there's a reason why I did eat one of the cookies.”

“What was that?” Alya turned away from her phone screen for a second to glance back at Renee.

“Oh, nothing, just talking to myself,” said Renee.

“Okay.” Alya turned back to her phone. “I guess you're used to that, being an only child and all.”

“Uh, yeah… I am.”

Alya gasped as the villain, who called himself Constructor (Alya had said that the names are almost never creative), struck his hammer to the ground, causing metal walls to rise up around Ladybug and Chat Noir before forming a roof above them, trapping them. “It looks like it's time for Chat to use his Cataclysm.”

“No little girls allowed on a construction site!” Apparently Constructor had heard Alya's comment. The akuma swung his hammer, and thick metal sheets sprung up around Alya, enclosing her completely.

Renee's gut instinct told her to run while she could, but instead, even as a sudden fear clenched her, she stood up to the villain, glaring at him. “Why are you doing this?”

“So I can build whatever I desire...” a glowing purple outline appeared in front of his face. “… And to capture Ladybug and Chat Noir's miraculous, to restore order to Paris.”

“Lucky Charm!” Ladybug shouted from behind Constructor, distracting him from Renee, who looked around the villain to see that the super duo had escaped their prison.

Taking the opportunity, Renee turned tail and darted out of the alley; her terror still burned vigorously within her. Once the girl ducked around a building, deeming herself safe, she opened her bag to release Mirra. “Why was I being so stupid before, Mirra? Fights aren't all awesomeness, not when they're real and right in your face! I used to think the Parisians were so lucky to have this stuff in their lives, but… I – I don't like fighting. I wish it would stop.”

“Oh, Renee, it's good that you're accepting how you really feel. It's okay if you're not fearless like Alya, though maybe foolish would describe her better.” Renee still became slightly unnerved when the kwami floated straight upward until she reached the girl's eye level.

“You're right, Mirra; I just hope these battles will be resolved one day.”

“You say that like you're only a bystander who can't make a difference. Maybe you should step in and do something if you really want that to happen.”

“Oh, yes, of course Mirra, how did I not think of that? Let's just stroll up to Mr. Hulk Hammer and be all like, 'stop fighting please.' That's a perfect plan.”

The kwami actually giggled at the teen's heavy sarcasm. “That's not what I meant. I can help you make a difference.” Mirra flew right up to the pin that Renee still wore. “Let me tell you what you can do with my help.”

“You don't mean...” Renee left her sentence unfinished and looked down to her new jewel, then up to Mirra, realization only coming to her halfway.

“I mean that I can transform you,” said Mirra, “and you'll be able to use the miraculous power yourself.”

“Isn't that like, what Chat and Ladybug do?” Realization in its full hit Renee. “I- I thought I was just going to be your friend; I didn't sign up for anything like this...”

“It's your choice, Renee,” said Mirra calmly.

Renee meanwhile was brimming with unexplainable emotion. There was awe, curiosity, and excitement, but also fear and uncertainty. Her strong urge to stop the fighting prevailed over this internal turmoil. “I'll do it,” she choked. She took a breath. “But don't expect it to become a regular thing.”

“It's okay; I'm here,” said Mirra. “You don't have to.”

“I want to. Just tell me what I need to know.”

“Of course, you'll have several powers at your disposal,” Mirra started. “The easiest to use is your boomerang-”

“Really? A boomerang?”

“Well, Ladybug has a yo-yo,” retorted the kwami. “As I was saying, the boomerang will always come back to your hand, and it's not that hard to use. You should probably start with it before you learn your other powers.”

“And what about these 'other powers' of which you speak?”

“You'll learn them with time. If there's an emergency, though, you should activate Liberation-”

“Look out!” Chat Noir's distant shout rang through the alley, as well as the sound of clashing metal.

“There's no more time to explain!” shouted Renee frantically. “Just transform me!” She flinched back as Mirra's form immediately blurred into a blue and green streak that spiraled toward her; she hadn't expected her words to cause such a sudden response. She staggered as the streak hit her jewel and a bright light filled her vision.

The light faded, and Renee blinked a few times, trying to become accustomed to what she was seeing. It was like her eyesight had been magically amplified times five. Actually, that's probably exactly what had happened. Now she could make out every little detail on the old building in front of her. Who even managed that place; there were way too many stains on the windows…

 _'Focus,'_ she told herself. She checked her body, which was now completely covered in skin-tight … whatever magical material the suit was made of. And it was surprisingly comfortable. Wait… were those actual peacock feathers?

Another metallic clang.

There was no more time for fascination. She had to join the fight.

_'Let's see if I can actually manage to do shit.'_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is pretty much a filler chapter to me until the very end, so I really don't have much of anything to say except that Chloe is still a brat, as always.


	5. Azervis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Renee had been staring at Paris' great superheroine, and the wide, inquisitive, gentle blue eyes of Marinette had stared back at her. Yeah, that awkward, somewhat shy girl in her class that also happened to be best friends with the girl who had devoted her time to discovering Ladybug's identity when Ladybug had been right next to her the whole time. That girl who had the same eyes and hair and voice as Ladybug, yet nobody had been able to make the connection until now. Just a little bit of magic, and boom! Ladybug's identity is revealed. Though, it wasn't like Renee would tell anyone. She had a secret of her own to protect, after all.

Ladybug had her plan ready, and her lucky charm, a ball of yarn, in hand. Now she just had to…

“Look out!” Chat Noir barreled into her from the side, knocking her away from the spot where she had been standing and where a wicked metal spike now stood. It was particularly irritating that this akuma could manipulate metal from afar just by striking his hammer on the ground. Where did all that metal even come from?

As Chat began to fight Constructor up close to buy Ladybug some time, she prepared to throw her lucky charm, but was stopped by a glimpse of something odd in her peripheral vision. Something fast and blue and…

The streaking blue form stopped moving little more than twenty feet away from Ladybug. She was definitely not a civilian, considering the striking blue and green body suit she wore, complete with long peacock feathers that gracefully descended from her backside, almost reaching the ground, and a blue mask with small white rings around her eyes.

_'Another akuma? How is that possible?'_

As their eyes locked, Ladybug ready to ask her who she was and what she was doing here, the peacock lady stepped back a little and her jaw dropped, her eyes wide.

Ladybug couldn't even ask what was causing this look of complete shock, as Miss Peacock quickly shook it off and drew a cyan boomerang from her upper back, as well as several small peacock feathers, which she shaped into a fan and attached to the boomerang.

Chat Noir's staff had directly impacted the end of Constructor's hammer, sending both of them a good distance apart from each other and emitting an earsplitting clang. Quickly recovering, Chat began to charge at the akuma again, and Peacock hurled her feather-fan-boomerang, which seemed to stop in the air right between Chat and Constructor.

There was a bright flash of blue light as Constructor's hammer and Chat Noir's staff swung closer to the boomerang, and a wall of energy flared up between them, sending them both away from each other again. The wall quickly faded as the boomerang began to move again, flying right back into the hand of Peacock, who looked satisfied but also awed.

Ladybug wanted to investigate the peacock girl further, but while Constructor was dazed and confused, she had to take the opportunity in front of her. Sending out her yo-yo, Ladybug snagged the hammer and pulled it back to her, breaking it on her knee. When the akuma fluttered out, Ladybug quickly cleansed it and tossed her unused Lucky Charm into the air, shouting her signature, “Miraculous Ladybug!”

While the cleansing light washed over the area, removing the abnormal metal structures, Ladybug chose to ignore the confused man who had been Constructor and turned to Peacock. She opened her mouth to speak, but Chat cut her off.

“Another one!?” he scowled, charging angrily at the stranger, baton raised.

“Chat, no!” Ladybug screamed, but it was too late to stop him.

Chat Noir's staff was coming straight down toward the peacock girl's head, and her face was clearly marked with fear and shock. That was not the face of an akuma.

The masked stranger flinched downward, and she hissed, “Liberation.” Within a moment's notice, the brooch on her chest lit up, and the countless blue-eyed feathers on her back swarmed around her entire body, and… then she was gone. Chat's staff cut down through nothing but air before forcefully hitting the ground. It was as if she had never even been there.

“What just happened?” Chat asked, looking around the area to no avail.

“What were you thinking, straight up attacking her like that!?” Ladybug snarled. It was one of those rare instances when the spotted heroine felt true wrath. “She didn't even try to hurt us!”

“I- I'm so sorry, it was just a gut reaction. What else could she even be if she's not-” he stopped when he saw that Ladybug was still angry and looked down at his feet; his normally bright green eyes had dulled.

“I- I said that too loud, didn't I? It's okay; at least you didn't actually hit her. Besides, you're kind of right; even if she hasn't hurt us yet, what could she be but an akuma anyway?”

Chat looked up a little, a glimmer of hope in his eyes, and both were silent for a few seconds. Then Ladybug spotted a familiar blue-clad figure standing just a short distance behind him. Her eyes widened. “Chat, look out!”

Both heroes were soon standing side-by-side, facing Lady Peacock with weapons drawn. Chat's miraculous beeped, followed shortly by Ladybug's. They only had two minutes each. Not good.

“How did you disappear like that earlier, and what do you want?” Chat Noir asked, trying not to draw attention to the obvious issue.

“I just really wanted peace, and it seems that the battle is over now,” she confessed, sounding much younger than she looked. “But, since your actions have proved that you do not want me as an ally...” She glared, specifically at Chat. “… I will leave you alone shortly.”

“If you're not an akuma, then explain yourself. Who are you? What are you? Please, I didn't want Chat to hurt you like that, Peacock.” Ladybug now realized that it would be very awkward to leave like this, and she needed answers.

“Peacock? That sounds so generic. From now on, you may call me Azervis.” A metallic ringing sound emanated from her. “Well, er, I would stick around to answer your questions, but I gotta split; maybe we can talk later!” She darted off behind a building and out of sight, leaving the confused duo alone.

“That sound… that came from her before she left..” Ladybug broke a short silence that to her had lasted several minutes, “… didn't it sound familiar?”

Chat's eyes widened. “Do you really think she has a miraculous? A real one?”

Ladybug slowly nodded as her earrings beeped again. “I'm sorry we can't talk more about this, but we'll have more time during our patrol tomorrow night. See ya'!” She cast out her yo-yo, pulling herself away from her partner and hurriedly ducking into an alley before her transformation dropped.

“That was close,” breathed an exhausted Tikki, who alighted on her charge's shoulder.

“Yeah, it was, good thing I can go home to- oh no.”

“What's wrong?”

“The group project with Renee and Adrien! We were supposed to meet at my place! What if they're waiting for me; I'd better get home fast!” Marinette dropped Tikki into her purse and began to run at top speed toward her home.

 

* * *

 

 

Azervis gracefully alighted in an inconspicuous spot; the inhuman energy and strength granted by her miraculous still amazed her, almost as much as her new big discovery. “Mirra, you're incredible,” she breathed, just before dropping the transformation.

Immediately after the magic left Renee, a wave of fatigue crashed into her. So much had happened today. She wasn't the only tired one; Mirra lay like a tired kitten in her palm.

“Ohmygosh Mirra what was that!? I did superhero stuff! And it was so cool it was like I was suddenly a more awesome version of myself and then when Chat Noir attacked me I just activated my power and-” Renee recalled the memory with full clarity. Mirra had told her that her power was independence, but Renee hadn't known that also entailed almost absolute independence from the physical world. Well, for thirty seconds. The only external force that had still affected her was gravity, though to a much lesser degree, and she had been invisible and able to just phase through any solid object, even the ground if she put her mind to it. “Imagine if that had lasted longer.”

The silence drove her mind back to the big thing that had happened during that encounter: that massive discovery that she had tried to permanently force into the back of her mind, but it kept coming back to completely dominate her thoughts.

_'I know Ladybug and Chat Noir's secret identities.'_

Sure, the moment she had transformed, Renee had understood that her suit gave her highly enhanced vision, probably something about how the iridescent white rings around her eyes helped to magically funnel in extra light. But then she saw Ladybug and Chat Noir through those eyes, and it was all so strange. That was the only way to put it. They had looked the same, but at the same time, Renee had felt like she was seeing two different people. Her mind had been screaming with recognition, telling her that these revered superheroes looked exactly like two teenagers in her class, just with magical suits.

Renee had been staring at Paris' great superheroine, and the wide, inquisitive, gentle blue eyes of Marinette had stared back at her. Yeah, that awkward, somewhat shy girl in her class that also happened to be best friends with the girl who had devoted her time to discovering Ladybug's identity when Ladybug had been right next to her the whole time. That girl who had the same eyes and hair and voice as Ladybug, yet nobody had been able to make the connection until now. Just a little bit of magic, and boom! Ladybug's identity is revealed. Though, it wasn't like Renee would tell anyone. She had a secret of her own to protect, after all.

Recognizing Adrien had come a bit slower to her because of the way his transformation altered his eyes and hair, but after a few seconds her mind was certain of the identity of the boy beneath the mask. If only all of Paris knew that their favorite teen model spent his spare time vaulting over rooftops, cracking puns, flirting, and kicking ass in a cat suit.

Speaking of Marinette and Adrien, didn't she have a group project to work on with them? Oh yeah, life responsibilities; now that the big things were out of the way, she had to return to being a normal teen who did normal teen things. Well, that is if doing school stuff with the civilian forms of Paris' heroes counted as a normal teen thing. And they probably didn't even know each other's identities, considering the obvious difference between Marinette's behavior around Adrien and around Chat Noir. This was going to be interesting.

“Are you okay?” Mirra asked, and Renee realized that she had been completely silent that whole time.

“How come I couldn't see Ladybug's true identity before? How come nobody can?” Renee immediately blurted.

“The miraculous stones contain a special magic that for the most part prevent others from making obvious connections between a chosen and their transformed self, such as the similarities in voice, hair, and eyes,” answered Mirra. “One of your powers is to see right through that magic. Maybe I should have told you about it before it before you transformed, but you didn't exactly give me time. Besides, I just don't like to think about it.”

“What do you mean, you 'don't like to think about it'? Do you not like them, aside from the fact that one of them attacked me?”

“No, they're good people; Marinette is an amazing Ladybug, but… Adrien… I should've known that sweet little boy would get chosen.” The kwami looked on the verge of tears. “He always did what his parents said… and I watched him curl up on his mother's lap to listen to stories… and now he's alone with Gabriel.” The kwami hissed the renowned fashion designer's name with unbridled hatred. “Poor Adrien doesn't deserve this, and it's all my fault.”

“You knew him when he was young? And what is your fault?”

“His mother is gone!” snapped Mirra. “I've known him since he was born, because… his mother was my chosen. Now I've lost her...”

“Mirra, please stop. It's okay.” Renee struggled to find the right words while her brain was full of the revelation that Mirra's lost chosen had been Adrien's mother. “I'm sure that your chosen's disappearance wasn't your fault… I wasn't there, but the past is past, and we can't change it. We can only move forward. Please stop worrying about it so much.”

Mirra froze and gazed up at Renee speechless, her eyes wide.

“What?”

“You remind me of Tikki so much,” admitted the kwami. “Tikki and her sweet, beautiful chosen.”

“Is Tikki another kwami? What are her chosen like?”

“You've already seen one of her chosen. Tikki is Ladybug's kwami. I'm honestly surprised that you weren't picked to be Ladybug.”

“Well, I only moved here very recently – do you really think I would have been picked to be Ladybug?” Renee was incredulous.

“I'm not saying that Marinette is a bad Ladybug, but yes, Renee, I myself think you would have become Ladybug if you had moved here a while earlier.” The kwami settled lazily down into Renee's bag without another word, leaving the girl speechless.

“IthinkI'mgoingtogobacktomynormallifenowokay,” she blurted, heading toward her house.

 

* * *

 

 

Renee's Paris home was a quaint location in the suburbs, which still was quite lacking in terms of furniture and general homey-ness. It was another consequence of moving, she knew.

Her stepmother, Helena Finais, cast the teen a shocked grateful look as she entered.

Before the woman could ask questions, Renee spoke. “I know I'm late; I helped Alya with her blog at the end of school and we might have gotten a bit caught up in the fight, but I'm fine now so please don't worry.” She quickly darted off into her room and, after closing the door, slung her backpack onto the messy bed.

As Mirra slowly rose out of the bag only to plop down again on the bed, yawning.

“Wow, are you still sulking about your old chosen? Remember, the past is...”

“Slow down, Miss Jumping-To-Conclusions,” Mirra interrupted. “I'm just tired; you never fed me after you detransformed.”

“Fed you? Kwamis need to eat? What kind of food do you eat?”

“I can eat practically anything you can, but I'd much prefer my favorite.”

“Which is...?”

“Fruit. Of any kind, as long as it's juicy and sweet.”

Renee fortunately managed to sneak into the kitchen and snag an apple while avoiding her stepmom; that woman was seemingly more worrisome than an actual mom, and by age fifteen-going-on-sixteen, Renee found it unhelpfully annoying. She just couldn't bring herself to admit it because of how touching it was that this woman who was not actually her mother cared for her so deeply.

“Thank you,” said Mirra when Renee offered her an apple slice. “It seems your friend has already made a blog post about you.”

Renee realized that the kwami had been playing around with her laptop while she had been fetching the apple. Her loss of privacy would take some getting used to.

“Did you really call yourself Azervis?” asked Mirra. “Where did that come from?”

“I don't know… I just… felt like it. I wanted an original superhero name, okay?” said Renee, continuing to slice the apple.

“It's okay, I was just teasing,” admitted Mirra. “The peacock miraculous is the only one that does not carry a consistent hero name. My charges have called themselves all sorts of weird things.”

“Of course I had to get the 'odd one out' miraculous,” said Renee, rolling her eyes.

“I prefer the term 'independent.'”

Renee simply left her kwami to eat the fruit without another word, which she surprisingly did quite easily even with her tiny mouth, and rummaged around in her backpack for her homework. Instead, she located a small slip of paper with vaguely familiar handwriting scrawled across it.

Marinette's address.

The project.

She was supposed to work on it this afternoon.

“Sorry for the short meal, Mirra, but I keep forgetting everything so easily.” The girl snagged her pack with one hand and Mirra with the other, dropping the startled kwami back into her bag. “I've gotta go and there's no way I'm leaving you alone in my house.”

“How kind of you to so swiftly shove me in like I'm one of your school books,” came Mirra's retort.

“Cheer up; I heard you saying some really great things about Tikki less than an hour ago – and we're going to Marinette's.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm posting this chapter a bit earlier than usual because I have several more chapters pre-written and I want to get into the plot. I know this story is going to be long because I already have a plan for the defeat of Hawkmoth and I know this is going to get way too ambitious but I feel obligated to write it anyway. Things will be kinda shippy for the next part of the story, during which the focus will shift away from Renee, but I'm sure that's what you all want anyway. Ramble over.


	6. Renee Knows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien gave the girls a goodhearted wave as he departed, and Marinette found herself stunned once again. Adrien had been displaying traits that did not fit her previous image of him, but for some reason, thinking about them only made her blush more furiously. She wasn't seeing him as a perfect, pristine, untouchable being any more; she was seeing him as a real person with his own quirks and even flaws. 
> 
> 'I think I've fallen even deeper in love.'

It had taken Marinette long enough to realize that she – despite having her resources laid out and organized – was in fact not ready to have Adrien Agreste in her room. Why did she even have so many photos of him laid out along almost every inch of free wall space? Was she really that obsessed with him?

That was when she started thinking about him again: his gentle green eyes and his kind smile – not his model smile, the other one. _'Yes, I am really that obsessed with him,'_ she reminded herself before stripping the last photo of him off of the wall and shoving it into a drawer where she was very hopeful nobody would think to look.

Marinette heard talking downstairs and a call from her mother. “Marinette, your friend is here!”

_'Oh shit, he's here already; I've taken down all of the pictures of him, right?'_ She glanced around in a nervous panic, realizing with relief that her wall was in fact clear – wait. Her desktop background. Restraining her shriek of horror as best she could, Marinette quickly changed her background to the first saved picture she could find, which happened to be a picture from the Ladyblog of Chat Noir and her on patrol… sitting near the top of the Eiffel Tower just after sunset. Good enough. “Tikki, find somewhere you can hide for a while,” she hissed before quickly trying to compose herself.

The hatch on the other side of the room creaked open to reveal not Adrien, but a familiar pair of inquisitive dark blue eyes, which proceeded to silently take in her room.

“Oh! Uh… hi Renee,” said Marinette, waving awkwardly while internally screaming. _'I'm such an idiot! I can't believe I forgot about Renee; this is a group project, not pairs, and I was so obsessed with my crush that I completely forgot that another person was coming over as well! Nice one, Ladybug.'_ Marinette had often referred to herself as her alter ego in that way to emphasize that the hero of Paris herself failed at life just as often as – actually, more often than any other teenage girl.

“Hi, Marinette,” said Renee. “I know you haven't known me for as long as the other kids in your class, but I'm sure we can get along well enough to complete a school project.”

“Of course,” said Marinette, “plus, we have Adrien to help us. He's pretty smart.”

“Smart?” Renee paused and fidgeted awkwardly before saying, “What I mean is – considering what I know about Adrien… which isn't that much...” she added that last part in hastily as if she was trying to correct an error in her speech. “It's just, he never struck me as the smart type.”

“Of course he's smart; someone can be kind and generous and handsome and amazing and smart all at the same time -” her mouth froze completely when realization hit her that she was in fact not talking to Alya, the only girl with whom she ever discussed her crush. Pretending that she had calmly finished her statement, Marinette desperately prayed that Renee would brush it off.

She didn't. “Oh, of course,” said the girl, her face morphing into a sly grin as she leaned closer to Marinette. Then she laughed. Not just a little giggle, but a sudden, powerful laugh of genuine humor. The girl backed away, out of breath, and wheezed, “The irony.”

Marinette's horror at practically admitting her crush changed to confusion, and she raised an eyebrow. “What's so funny and ironic?”

Renee paused for a second, as if thinking about how to word her answer, when a knock sounded on the hatch. “Oh, look, Adrien's here,” she said, opening the hatch and welcoming in the newest guest.

It was Adrien, but now he was actually here and Marinette had to actually be ready and… what if Renee told him? She wouldn't do that… would she?

“Hi Renee, hi Marinette,” he said as he entered the room. “Marinette? Are you okay?”

Marinette realized her face had frozen in horror at the thoughts she was having. She tried her hardest to relax and managed, “Hi A-Adrien. I-I'm fine.” It wasn't like she could bring herself to tell him why she actually wasn't just fine.

“Hey, Mari, I didn't know you were a designer.” Renee was at her workstation in a flash.

“Uh, yeah, I am,” said Marinette. “I was going to make the poster for our presentation. I'm going to need some help, though.”

“Adrien can do it!” blurted Renee.

“Why do you say that?” Marinette raised an eyebrow regarding the girl's odd behavior.

“Well, obviously, you two work so well together.” As Marinette's eyes widened in confusion, Renee hastily corrected, “I mean - I'm terrible at actually making the content of the presentation. I'll just… research. A history presentation needs research, I'm sure. Can I borrow your computer for it?”

“Er… okay,” said Marinette. Renee was an awkward girl, but she seemed a bit too awkward right now, almost like the times when Marinette almost accidentally confessed to Adrien. That could only mean that Renee was hiding something, but was slipping up on it. Had she just said that Marinette and Adrien worked well together? What could... Marinette froze up, her thoughts ceasing, as a hand touched her shoulder from behind. With a tiny gasp, she twirled around.

“So, what do you need help with?” asked Adrien.

“I… n-need help with the images and captions on the poster.” She held back the strong urge to add _'but only if you're okay with it.'_

As Adrien walked off to grab his supplies, Renee turned her head away from Marinette's computer, revealing a wide grin. “Nice desktop background,” she mouthed to Marinette.

Marinette jumped a little. Oh yeah, she had changed the picture to that picture of Ladybug and Chat Noir watching the sun set together. Not only did Renee seem to learn about her crush from just one slip of the tongue, but now she probably took her to be a huge LadyNoir shipper. This girl would be the end of her.

Before Marinette could say anything about it, Adrien returned ready to get to work, and Renee calmly turned back to her research.

The rest of the afternoon spent on the project went by like a blur. After about ten extremely awkward minutes, Marinette found herself actually able to talk to Adrien. She had dreamed of so many possibilities for what her first prolonged discussion with the boy would be like, none of which came close to the reality. Renee had seemed so entertained by their discourse that she almost never butted in, instead working on her share of the project almost completely separately from them.

Though Adrien dutifully kept the topic of the discussion to the task at hand, Marinette learned more about him in those few hours than she had in the entire month prior. Maybe it was the sheer number of video game and anime references he slipped into many of the comments he made, or the puns. _Adrien_ made _puns_. Even worse, Marinette found herself liking them. Since when did she like puns? Was it all because they had to be coming from Adrien's mouth? He even leaned close enough to her that she could smell his cologne and even the scent it covered, which was the smell of… cheese? It seemed like some sort of stinky cheese, but she didn't question.

Marinette had never known much about Adrien but had still devoted her heart to him, and found herself ready to accept any unexpected revelations and learn to love every part of him. Even the parts that were… less than perfect.

Then it was over. Adrien's chauffeur pulled up in front of the bakery to take him home. The project still wasn't quite done, but there were still a couple more days to work on it.

Adrien gave the girls a goodhearted wave as he departed, and Marinette found herself stunned once again. Adrien had been displaying traits that did not fit her previous image of him, but for some reason, thinking about them only made her blush more furiously. She wasn't seeing him as a perfect, pristine, untouchable being any more; she was seeing him as a real person with his own quirks and even flaws.

_'_ _I think I've fallen even deeper in love.'_

 

* * *

 

 

Renee turned toward Marinette as soon as Adrien left. _'It's now or never.'_ “I'm sorry,” she said aloud.

“What?” asked Marinette, turning to face her. “Sorry for what?”

“Earlier today, after the akuma attack,” she said, knowing very well that Marinette would deny what she was about to say. “I'm sorry for leaving you like that.”

“What do you mean?” Marinette asked, a nervous sweat visible on her face. “I was nowhere near the akuma attack.” _'Called it.'_

“You know you were there,” insisted Renee, an unexpected stern attitude taking over her words. “Don't deny it. I saw right through that little spotted mask of yours.”

Marinette's body tensed; her sky blue eyes now appeared frozen. “What?” she gasped.

“I – I didn't mean to frighten you, I'm just saying that… it's okay, we can be friends, if you want.” Renee caught a glimpse of blue and green from the corner of her eye; Mirra had probably emerged from hiding.

Marinette's gaze flitted down to Renee's miraculous, then back up to her eyes. “Azervis,” muttered the astonished girl, who remained otherwise unmoving. “It was you. But how do you-?”

“Know your identity?” completed Renee for her. “I honestly don't know myself. I just… looked at Ladybug, and I saw you.”

“That's why you were so shocked when you looked at me.”

Renee smiled with relief and nodded before checking her watch. “I'd better get home soon. I just hope that this goodbye isn't as awkward as the last, right? Friend?”

“Friend,” Marinette confirmed, though her voice was still barely a whisper.

No more words were spoken as Mirra zipped back into hiding and Renee opened the trapdoor and descended the stairs. _'Marinette knows: check. Now for Adrien…'_ Yawning, Renee realized how insanely exhausted she actually was. She had only received her miraculous earlier that day and she was seriously getting way ahead of herself. _'Adrien can wait. The actual next thing on the list is sleep.'_

Mirra was quite happy with her new friend's wise decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a short chapter this time; it's the one where the shippy part of the story begins. Renee is the shipper. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)


	7. The Notes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next day for Marinette was special solely because of the fact that nothing special happened.
> 
> Unlike Marinette, Renee had not dubbed this Wednesday 'special only because nothing special happened.' Instead, she had categorized the day as 'reconnaissance.' Most of her spare time was devoted to scouring the Ladyblog for information on Paris' heroes, which therefore became further knowledge of Marinette and Adrien.

The next day for Marinette was special solely because of the fact that nothing special happened. That is, unless if you counted all of those nervous moments Marinette had had when she was fully aware of Renee's deep gaze boring into the back of her head. It was simultaneously unnerving and relaxing to have someone who knew her identity, someone who often gave her subtle winks while passing by and produced a knowing grin every time Alya brought up Ladybug. Although, Marinette had been the first to do both of those things at the beginning of the school day.

“Can you believe that there's a new superhero in Paris!?” Alya had exclaimed to her friend. “I was trapped in a metal cage before Ladybug used her Miraculous Cure, so I missed most of it, but afterward, I saw her! Oh man, you really should have read my blog post about her. And...”

“Alya, please be quiet, class is starting,” ordered Miss Bustier sternly.

“Sorry,” Alya murmured, turning nervously back to Marinette. “You need to check the Ladyblog A-S-A-P,” she said, quieter this time. “She's like this awesome peacock lady. She calls herself Azervis.”

Marinette had turned back toward Renee for a second, and that was when the subtle smiles and winks had begun.

 

* * *

 

 

Unlike Marinette, Renee had not dubbed this Wednesday 'special only because nothing special happened.' Instead, she had categorized the day as 'reconnaissance.' Most of her spare time was devoted to scouring the Ladyblog for information on Paris' heroes, which therefore became further knowledge of Marinette and Adrien.

Maybe she wasn't supposed to be this much 'into' the duo; if someone found out about her research, they would probably be convinced she held romantic interest in one of them. _'Why does the world have to romanticize everything anyway?'_  The only romance she wanted was some good old LadyNoir.

_'I mean, this situation is the kind of thing that one would think could only happen on TV, and I don't blame them. Seriously, Chat flirts with Ladybug, and she turns him down. Why? Because she's “in love with someone else.” Except that that “someone else” is actually him, and he never notices the girl who's crushing on him because he's too busy thinking about his Lady, who is actually his awkward lover, who he is oblivious to. Wow, this would actually make a really good show.'_

Her internal monologue could have gone on for longer, but maybe it would be a better idea to pay attention to the class, considering that she hadn't been here for the entire school year like the others; it would probably help to listen to the review. Well, listen a little bit. Of course, deep inside her mind was still boiling with frustration. If even Alya couldn't get those two together, she needed a plan. Maybe if they were to go on a date… this was difficult. How could she possibly convince either of them to ask the other out on a date? Wait a minute… 'Maybe I don't need to do that…'

 

* * *

 

 

Marinette finally decided to work on her homework when it was already nine-o-clock. She might have even waited until later if not for Tikki's constant 'encouragement.' But she knew she had to finish the homework eventually; she wouldn't have time for it tomorrow night because that was when she had to finish her project with Renee and Adrien.

Pulling out her books, she quickly noticed that one of them had a sticky note attached to it, one which reminded her of the note Alya had left her before she was akumatized into Lady Wifi. Alya had left that note because she was too busy saving Paris to answer her phone at the time, but there hadn't been an akuma attack today, so this one certainly wasn't from Alya.

“What's this?” she raised the note to her face and read:

**'Tomorrow, 8:00 sharp**

**@ ur favorite Italian restaurant.**

**Be there or be square.'**

There was nothing there akin to a signature, and she didn't recognize the handwriting, but the only ones she had told about her favorite Italian restaurant were her parents and Alya. Well, she had also mentioned it when she was working on the group project with Adrien and Renee. It had turned out that it was Adrien's favorite Italian place too, though his father almost never let him eat out.

'But neither my parents nor Alya would write this note, and certainly not Adrien… who wrote this? How much does this person know? Why doesn't this note have any details?'

“Tikki, what do you think of this?” Marinette held the note out toward the kwami as she flew closer.

“I think you should just ignore it,” said Tikki. “This person seems like some kind of stalker. You have to finish your project tomorrow night anyway.”

“Yeah,” Marinette mumbled over her persistent internal turmoil. “Just ignore it.”

 

* * *

 

 

Adrien reread the note in his hands a few times, trying to wrap his head around the vague message. “Someone wants to meet at my favorite Italian restaurant? Tomorrow? But why would I do that? I mean, this looks very suspicious...”

“Who cares?” said Plagg, zipping around Adrien's head. “You're Chat Noir; you can handle yourself. Besides, don't you want to know who wrote you this note?”

“It has to be someone from school; who else would have put this on my textbook? It was probably someone from my class! I wouldn't think anyone from class would write something so vague, though. Couldn't they just talk to me about it like a normal person?”

“That's why you should go. If you don't, you'll never find out.”

“And if I do, something bad might happen. Besides, I have that group presentation to finish.”

“Wow, you're boring. Just finish the presentation quickly and tell the ladies that your dad needs something from you. Anyone would accept that excuse.” Plagg bumped up against the fridge. “Where's my repayment for coming up with such a brilliant idea?”

“Your idea was the same thing I would have come up with, but if I give you some of your putrid cheese and promise I'll show up for the mystery date, will you leave me alone?”

“Fine,” Plagg sighed, though his mood visibly brightened as Adrien threw him a wedge of Camembert and sat down to do his homework.

 

* * *

 

 

Then came patrol time. When Ladybug and Chat Noir met on their chosen rooftop, both remained silent for a while, waiting for the other to speak.

Finally, Chat spoke. “I'm sorry for attacking Azervis the other day. What if the public starts acting like she's an enemy of ours? She's probably just an innocent young miraculous holder like us.”

“That's barely worse than what the public actually thinks of her. Have you seen the Ladyblog? Alya didn't catch the part where you hit her, only the part where she announced her name and left. Now, the blog post on Azervis says that she left purely out of courtesy because we were about to detransform, and that she's actually a new full-blown teammate of ours.”

“You read the Ladyblog?” asked Chat with an amused look on his face.

“Well, not usually, just that one post.” Ladybug left out the reason she had read it; that Alya wouldn't stop spamming her with text messages until she did.

“I have a feeling we're going to be getting a lot of questions about Azervis that we can't answer after this,” said Chat. “As if we would trust her like a teammate just like that after what happened with Volpina.”

“Yeah, and how would we know any more about her than the average civilian when we don't even know each other?” Ladybug hid the nervousness in her voice with a slight chuckle, because she _did_ know Azervis, who happened to be in the very same class as her.

“So, my lady, how about we get to our paw-trol?”

Instead of her usual groan in response to his pun, Ladybug smiled with amusement and drew her yo-yo. Since when did she find herself liking awful puns?

 _'Ever since Adrien started making them,'_ she thought to herself. _'Oh God, I can't fall for Chat just because Adrien is acting more like him. They're two very different people.'_ She began her routine trip around the city, but her mind was full of conflicting thoughts. _'Pull yourself together. You love Adrien. You don't even know who Chat is.'_ Ladybug didn't know for how long she would be able to convince herself that she wasn't falling in love with her partner.

 

* * *

 

 

Before class the next day, Marinette found a chance to talk to Alya. Because she kept such a huge secret from her close friend, Marinette tried her best to tell the blogger about everything in her life that didn't have to do with her secret superhero identity.

“So, you just found a mysterious note on one of your textbooks?” asked Alya.

“Yeah, here it is.” Marinette hastily drew the note from her bag. “I have no idea who wrote it or what it means. I'm thinking I should just try to ignore it?”

“But what if it's actually your true soulmate asking you out on a secret date?” asked Alya. She lowered her voice. “What if it's Adrien?”

The color drained from Marinette's face as she stammered, “Adrien wouldn't do something like this… would he?”

“There's only one way for you to find out...” Alya stopped as Adrien and Nino entered the room. Marinette was glad, as she didn't need any more people getting involved with this conversation.

The day went by in a blur as Marinette impatiently awaited her release from school and her continuation of working with her Adrien. They would finish the project and it would be perfect because he had worked on it. But not in the way Chloe would mean it. She only liked Adrien because he was rich and handsome, but he was actually so much more than that. And he definitely wasn't the type to leave sticky notes without a signature… right?

 

* * *

 

 

Soon, it was finally time to finish the project; Adrien had arrived before Renee this time despite his tight schedule.

Marinette almost dissolved into a stuttering mess trying to talk to him, but then she remembered the night before last. _'He's actually a huge dork. Pretend you're talking to Chat Noir.'_ Finally, she let out her tense stammering and started talking to him… in complete sentences. She couldn't believe she was actually making progress with him, after months of failed attempts. And it was all because of _puns_ , of all things.

Renee arrived to see the two adding their finishing touches to the poster. Adrien waved at her before getting right back to work, his back facing her. Marinette looked up at the dark-haired girl for longer; now wearing a sly grin, she subtly unzipped her backpack while Adrien was still focused on the poster, and her blue kwami zipped out. Without a sound, the kwami gestured to Marinette's now-empty purse with a questioning look.

 _'It must be wondering where Tikki is.'_ Continuing the silence, Marinette subtly motioned to the closet, where the ladybug kwami often resided while guests were around for a considerable amount of time.

The peacock kwami nodded and phased through the closet door.

The slight sound caused Adrien to look up from his work for a second, while Renee attempted to divert his attention. “Good job,” she said, smiling. “I can't believe how close we are to being done. We'll finish before seven at this rate.”

Apparently taking the bait, Adrien nodded, smiling, and got back to work as Renee joined him.

The following minutes were fairly quiet, and Marinette resisted the urge to talk to Adrien more for the sake of the presentation.

By six-thirty, they were practically finished and had started talking again, though this time, Renee was actively involved in the conversation.

“So Adrien, what's it like being a model?” Renee asked. “And getting to wear nice clothes,” she added under her breath, though it was clearly loud enough for both Adrien and Marinette to hear.

“It's nothing big in my opinion,” answered Adrien. “I just do it for my father.” He paused. “And Renee, about two days ago… I heard what Chloe said to you at lunch, but please don't be ashamed because of that; Chloe's like that with everyone. Just because you aren't good with fashion, it doesn't make you any worse of a person,” he said. “I like your outfit myself, especially your brooch. It reminds me of my mother.”

Renee froze up and flinched, an unexpected reaction to the compliment, even when Marinette took into account the fact that the fan-shaped brooch was Renee's miraculous. “Y-yeah, I'm fine, thank you,” Renee finally said, though there was still a nervous squeak in her voice.

Adrien smiled with one of those innocent, genuine smiles that made his face seem to shine like the sun and left Marinette speechless.

“Well, it seems we're done.” Renee changed the subject. “And before seven as well. Good job!”

“Yeah,” said Adrien. “Now I don't have to keep Nathalie and Gorilla waiting for too long. They probably just arrived. I would stay for longer, but there's something else I have to attend to.”

“That's fine,” said Marinette. “I know your father doesn't give you a lot of free time.”

He hesitated before saying, “That's true. Goodbye.” He smiled at her before descending toward the bakery.

“Bye,” Marinette repeated, a wide, dreamy grin adorning her face.

“You really are something,” said Renee while her kwami flew back through the closet door and into her backpack. “Have a good night.” She departed with a smirk on her face.

Tikki finally approached her charge now that the others were gone. “That girl really is something,” she said, repeating Renee's words. “Mirra made sure to let me know how ridiculous and oblivious you and Chat apparently are.”

“So that's the kwami's name,” noted Marinette. “Do you know exactly how she figured out my identity?” she asked.

“She didn't figure it out, she saw,” explained Tikki. “One of Mirra's powers is to see through the magic of the miraculous. She may also know who Chat is, depending on if she's met him in his civilian form.”

“I guess I'm okay enough with this as long as she doesn't tell me and Chat each other's identities,” said Marinette. “I just can't believe that her miraculous can just 'see' through our disguises. I wonder if she can see who Hawkmoth is.”

“Here's a reminder that she can only see through the magical disguises, not the physical ones. The only reason she recognized you is because she knew you from class. That's why she might not have recognized Chat Noir. That's also why, even if she was able to look at Hawkmoth himself, she might not recognize him.”

“You're right, Tikki. I'm just thinking too deep into this...” Marinette searched her mind for something else to think about. Her homework? Boring. The note? Glancing at a clock, Marinette observed that it was still only six-forty-five. Her 'working on the project' excuse was now invalid, and her curiosity was consuming her. Who in the world wanted to meet to dine with her? Was it some sort of blind date? Who was her secret lover?

“I'm going to that restaurant,” she decided with finality.

“Oh Mari, will you ever listen to my advice?” groaned Tikki.

“It's just a date, or so it seems. If this person knows my favorite Italian place, they are at least somewhat worthy of my trust.”

“But still...”

“Come on, Tikki. What's the worst that could happen?”

“Fine. But don't blame me if you get into an awkward situation.”

“Okay,” sighed Marinette, suddenly overcome with a familiar kind of boredom. “Now for the wait.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late chapter. (what does anyone care nobody reads this trash) Next chapter is a favorite of mine and is entirely Adrien POV so be ready ;)


	8. Blind Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien disguised his nervousness by grinning at her like that pun he just made wasn't actually a hint toward his secret superhero life.
> 
> Marinette, who was looking through her purse at the time, looked up and, seeing the grin, stiffened. The purse slid off her lap and onto the ground, scattering its contents. There hadn't actually been much in there except a cookie, some money, her sketchbook, and… what was that?

It was 7:50 P.M. Adrien had just arrived at the location of the mystery meeting and now sat on a bench just outside the restaurant, gazing toward the westbound sun. He could feel a restless Plagg shifting around under his jacket, but his attention was still solely directed toward his wondering of who exactly wanted to meet him. Since he had incredibly been able to convince Gorilla to drive him here, he desperately hoped not to be disappointed.

A girl cautiously approached the restaurant, and her gaze fell on him for a second before she rapidly turned away and stood nervously near the entrance, glancing at her phone every few seconds. Marinette. Adrien wanted to talk to her to pass the remaining minutes before his mystery date showed up, but Marinette was that one classmate who he had always had trouble talking to. He had made some progress with her while working on their group presentation, but he still felt that there was something about him that made her uneasy. Adrien wanted to find out what that something was so he could correct it and finally become proper friends with her.

Finally, he approached her. “Hey Marinette, what brings you here this evening?”

Her eyes widened as her gaze was wrenched from her phone, and she gasped, “Adrien? Uh… I – was going to meet someone here in a few minutes. Yeah.”

“And who might this special 'someone' be?” he pressed, though in a polite tone so as not to intimidate her.

“I – uh… this might sound weird, but… I actually don't know. Someone just left me a note saying they wanted to meet at eight… and my curiosity won.”

She gave an awkward laugh, but Adrien's thoughts were elsewhere. She had received a note just like his? Why would this mystery person want both of them here to meet at the same time? Unless… this mystery person didn't actually plan on showing up. “I can't believe it,” he said aloud. “Marinette, someone set us up.”

“What?” Her awkwardness quickly morphed into confusion.

“I got a note just like yours. I can't believe I fell for this trick.” He groaned. “I'm sorry Marinette, that this had to happen to us. You're probably uncomfortable that someone is trying to get you to date your friend. We can just leave, if you-”

“No,” Marinette interrupted. “I mean, we don't have to leave. This _is_ our favorite Italian place, after all, and I brought some money.”

“You're right,” admitted Adrien. “Date or not, I'm up for a nice dinner.”

As the two walked in to get themselves a table, an employee looked them down before asking, “Are you Adrien Agreste?”

“Well, yes sir,” answered Adrien, confused by the sudden question. “Why-?”

“Someone claiming to be a friend of yours reserved a table for you and your date,” the man spoke, interrupting Adrien.

“Well, you see, it's not exactly a date...”

“Follow me,” he said calmly, ignoring the comment and leading them to the outdoor tables. “You two can sit here. Your meals will be on the house.”

And, of course, the reserved table was one of the romantic outdoor ones with an excellent view of the Eiffel Tower. Adrien groaned silently. _'If ever I find out who's responsible for this, I swear…'_

The man gestured to the twin seats, and Adrien reluctantly sat down. Marinette silently took the chair opposite him, looking mostly awed and slightly disappointed.

He picked up a menu. “I don't know what kind of prank this is, but hey, we get free food.”

Marinette managed a smile. “Y-you said this was your favorite restaurant… but… what's your favorite dish?”

“Pizza,” he answered quickly. “And yours?”

“The spaghetti, of course,” she breathed. “The pasta here is so great… like you.” She squeaked. “Er- I mean-!”

He laid his hand on hers, silencing her. “Please don't get yourself worked up like that. Let's just put those awkward days behind us and be friends, right?”

“Yeah… friends...” She still looked rather flustered, but he brushed it off and allowed a waiter to take their orders.

As Marinette ordered, Adrien could feel Plagg squirming in his jacket again. Why did that glutton have to make things so difficult? Making sure that Marinette was facing away from him, Adrien opened his white jacket near the bottom and discreetly let the kwami loose, trusting well enough that Plagg wouldn't let himself be seen.

Finally, he received his pizza and readily took his first bite.

“How is it?” asked Marinette.

“Purrfect.” Adrien let the pun slip out. His Princess was so far the only person other than Nino who brought out his inner Chat as a civilian. Maybe it was because her hairstyle mimicked his Lady's or because of her clear bluebell eyes.

Marinette blinked a couple times before twirling her pasta in her fork and taking a small bite. She seemed to be mumbling something to herself, but he only caught the words “… like Chat… difficult… only like one...”

He immediately leaned back and noted mentally that Marinette probably knew more about his alter ego than he realized, and that he should learn to restrain his inner Chat around her to protect his identity. Adrien disguised his nervousness by grinning at her like that pun he just made wasn't actually a hint toward his secret superhero life.

Marinette, who was looking through her purse at the time, looked up and, seeing the grin, stiffened. The purse slid off her lap and onto the ground, scattering its contents. There hadn't actually been much in there except a cookie, some money, her sketchbook, and… what was that? Immediately, Marinette darted down, frantically trying to clean up the mess, and Adrien's curiosity won him over.

“It's okay,” he comforted her, slowing her frantic rush before he slowly picked up the thing. It looked like some sort of odd doll, it was red with black spots, and its skin didn't resemble any material he knew of. It's shape reminded him a bit of Plagg… Plagg represented Chat Noir, and this thing had the colors of Ladybug… He brushed off the thought for now. Kwamis moved around, and this thing was as still as…

Marinette squeaked like she was restraining some much louder outburst, breaking his chain of thought. The poor girl looked like she was having an intense panic attack.

“It's okay, please don't worry.” He laid his free hand on hers, this time intertwining their fingers, while the other still gently clasped the ladybug doll. “There's nothing to be ashamed of. This is a cute doll.”

“Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, it's just a little thing I like to carry around for good luck. You know how clumsy I can be,” she said nervously, her hand slowly drifting closer to it so as to gently take it from him.

Adrien pulled his free right hand away from her as he noticed Plagg drifting up from under the table. If he was going to risk himself being seen, he was going to get a big talk after this dinner was over. As Adrien readied his hand to discreetly snatch the kwami, Plagg drifted just high enough to see everything on the table. The kwami froze, his gaze immediately darting to Adrien's left hand. To Adrien's shock and anger, Plagg couldn't restrain a cry of “Tikki!?”

_'That's it.'_ Adrien's open hand closed around the black kwami's scrawny body and pulled him back into the jacket. He didn't care what strange thing called 'Tiki' the black kwami was thinking about; blurting like that in public was unacceptable. As he moved his gaze to meet Marinette's and readied to make some excuse to brush off Plagg's outburst, he noticed the 'doll' in his left hand moving. It was just for a tiny moment, but Adrien could have sworn he saw that thing flinch and blink a couple times before freezing in place again. _'O…M…G.'_

“What was that sound?” Marinette asked, her tone indicating that she was currently a physical embodiment of anxiety. She must have been referring to Plagg's idiotic move.

“Oh… er… I… not know?” Suddenly Adrien was the one tripping over sentences incoherently and unable to form words as his mind spun with overwhelming revelations. “I do not know!” he exclaimed, hurriedly pushing his left hand toward her, the one that contained the thing-that-had-to-be-the-ladybug-kwami-what-else-could-it-be-he-even-saw-it-move.

Gently, Marinette picked up the motionless red kwami and placed it back into her purse. Marinette had the ladybug kwami in her purse. Marinette was actually Ladybug. How had Adrien noticed the similarities between his Princess and his Lady – their – her hair, her voice, her eyes – and yet his mind had not suggested that they were one and the same? But now that he was certain of the fact, it suddenly became so clear that the girl sitting across from him was his own Ladybug. He could almost feel her identity-protecting miraculous magic lifting from his mind, opening his eyes.

That whole time, while he had been tirelessly searching for the love of his life, she had been right there, sitting behind him, listening to Alya's blabbering about her, blurting incoherent sentences every time he looked at her, tripping almost every week, standing strong against Chloe, working on that project with him for hours, and she was having a romantic dinner with him right now…

“Adrien? Are you okay?” she asked, breaking him out of his trance. Her eyes were filled with such a level of genuine emotion and concern which she almost never used with Chat Noir that Adrien's thoughts quickly returned to a mess of incomplete words and phrases.

“I- it's fine,” he breathed. He couldn't lose his cool like this, not in front of Ladybug. Only Chat Noir would know what the kwami in her purse meant. Adrien Agreste wasn't supposed to be able to figure out her identity because her kwami flinched slightly in his hand because _his_ kwami couldn't keep his mouth shut. He wanted to tell her then and there, but he knew he wouldn't be able to manage that until he pulled his thoughts together.

“Good.” She smiled, not with Ladybug's confident smile but Marinette's adorable one. They were actually both very similar smiles, just taken in different contexts. 'I love both of them,' Adrien decided.

He could feel Plagg now shifting uncomfortably in his jacket, but the boy kept him trapped inside; it served him right for what he had done. After only a few more bites of pizza, Adrien realized that that night's shock had been easily enough to remove any sensation of hunger. Pushing the leftover food away, he said, “I don't think I'm hungry anymore.”

“That's fine. I don't think I am either to be honest.” Marinette spoke calmly but with an undertone of uneasiness as she twirled her fork in her pasta.

“That's good; now I can get home quickly before my father notices I'm gone,” said Adrien, not mentioning the other reason that entailed how badly he needed some time alone to think things through.

“Your father doesn't even know you're here?” Marinette seemed dumbfounded.

“No… if he did, I wouldn't be here. But if I get home quickly, he'll never find out this happened.”

“Do you often have to sneak away like this?”

“Actually, yes.”

“Well, in that case, I shouldn't keep you waiting.” Pulling away from him, Marinette stood up and waved to him. “I'm sorry that we never got to find out who left those notes.”

“It's fine. At least we got to spend some time together.” He grinned at her but quickly realized that his behavior was probably a bit too Chat-like when the girl habitually rolled her eyes.

By the time the two of them had left the restaurant, Marinette said her goodbye and departed, disappearing into the night.

Now that Adrien thought about it, how had he not noticed his classmate's beauty before? Had he been that blinded by his love for Ladybug? Was that why he had not realized that she had been right behind him every school day? Shaking his head, he walked into a dark alley and checked to make sure nobody was looking before he released Plagg.

“What were you _thinking?_ ” Adrien immediately hissed. “You just exposed Ladybug's identity and almost my own as well!”

“You mean to tell me that you were holding _Tikki_ like some toy and you didn't get it?” defended Plagg. “You were supposed to tell her! It's been over a century since Tikki and I have seen each other! Your mother's only been gone for a fraction of that time, and I've seen how emotional you get about _her_!”

“Oh.” Adrien's eyes widened. “I – it's just that you're always talking about how your cheese is better than love. I never expected you to feel that way about her.”

“Tikki and I do not love each other in that silly human way,” said Plagg. “We are the oldest kwamis and have been connected since before humans even existed. Do you expect me not to care about her _at all_?”

Adrien didn't speak as his mind once again processed that Ladybug wasn't the only superhero who has been around for thousands of years.

“How did it go?”

Adrien froze. That voice wasn't Plagg's. He whipped his head around, trying to find the source of the voice, but the alley was just as empty as it had been before.

“I'm up here, silly kitty.”

His gaze turned upward to the roof of the building behind him, almost expecting to see Ladybug, the only one who he had heard use that nickname, but he was instead confronted with a different familiar figure. Azervis looked even bigger and more striking in the darkness, or maybe it was just because the feathers on her back were raised and spread out into a fan like an actual peacock.

“You – what are you doing here? What do you want with me?” Adrien quietly asked.

“I was going to ask you about your date,” she said nonchalantly.

“My date? How did you-?” That was when it hit him. “You! You're the one who left the notes, aren't you?”

“Considering my knowledge, I couldn't resist.”

“B-but you're a miraculous holder, right? Shouldn't you be… _protecting_ the people of Paris instead of setting them up on blind dates?”

The smugness on her face dissolved and her feathers naturally flattened down again. “ _You_ were the one chosen for your kindness and courage to protect Paris,” she said in a low voice. Though it had been clear from the nickname she had used that Azervis knew who he was, Adrien still flinched at the words.

“Nobody chose for _me_ to do anything,” she continued. “I decided on my own to give my allegiance to an abused kwami. I don't owe any protection to the city, especially since things have been going so well with just you and Ladybug. I really wouldn't want to get between you two or mess up your dynamic.”

“For some reason, you're actually making sense, considering how Ladybug felt about the concept of a new teammate when Volpina appeared,” observed Adrien. “But still, I can't believe you left those notes!”

“I just had to leave them. I was hoping you would learn something new about Marinette.” Adrien could vaguely see her shiny feathers beginning to rise again.

“I guess you could say that I learned something new...”

“Wait, did she actually tell you already?” asked Azervis, genuinely curious.

“Not really; she dropped her bag, and her kwami fell out, and...”

“No, not that thing, the other thing!” Azervis sounded frustrated. “You know – her… feelings about you.”

“What do you mean, feelings about me?” asked Adrien. His confused thoughts were cut off by the sound of someone calling his name. Nathalie was looking for him. _'Shit!'_ he was going to be in big trouble. “Er, bye!” he blurted, pulling Plagg back into his jacket and sliding out of the alley. As he took one last glance back, Azervis shook her head and slunk away across the rooftops.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a nice long chap with lots of Adrien POV, and without a single cut. Have I mentioned how much I love to write oblivious characters? (How did he learn her identity before figuring out about her crush, wow, so oblivious)


	9. Preparations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien was only barely able to drag himself to school that day, now loaded with the knowledge that his Lady was, and would be, right behind him, and even presenting that group project with him.
> 
> Every time he saw the true passion in her eyes when she was arguing with Chloe or deep in conversation with Alya, that same passion was what had inspired him since his first fight as Chat Noir. Her beautiful smile was the very same that Adrien had fallen in love with. He had found the other side of the love of his life, and he couldn't be happier.

“These close calls are going to kill me,” sighed Marinette toward Tikki once she was a good distance from the restaurant. “But one thing still confuses me. That noise, while you were in Adrien's hand – I think it said your name. Or maybe I was just hearing things.”

“You weren't; I heard it too,” said Tikki, her head popping out of Marinette's bag. “I think… it was Plagg.” The kwami breathed the last word.

“Plagg?” Marinette had never heard of that one before.

“Chat Noir's kwami,” explained Tikki. “I could have sworn that voice was his.”

“So you're not even sure? Don't you have some kind of special power to recognize other kwamis?”

“Not by voice,” said Tikki. “Though, it is true that Plagg and I are connected. I can sense whether or not we are within a few miles of each other, but I can't tell exactly how close he is. The sense does become more precise when Chat is transformed, but while he is living his normal life, I have little clue exactly where he is. I'm assuming he was at the restaurant because I'm mostly sure I heard Plagg's voice.”

“Chat Noir was at that restaurant while I was eating with Adrien?”

“Unless if Plagg is even more reckless than he was during more ancient times, and if that was actually him saying my name, then Chat Noir, in his civilian form, couldn't have been far away.”

“But this must mean Plagg now knows my identity! What if he tells Chat?”

“Calm down,” encouraged Tikki. “Plagg may be a pain sometimes, but he would at least respect that the identity of Ladybug isn't his secret to tell.”

Marinette's panic subsided enough for her to think. If she really put effort into it, she could come very close to discovering her partner's identity. But she wouldn't; after being so adamant to him about keeping their identities secret, she would never make such an attempt to find him out. She could just think about Adrien, how he had been the stuttering one for once instead of her. What if he…?

She brushed the thought off. That was unreasonable. She whispered to Tikki, “I have to transform and get home before my mom notices I'm gone.”

After she ducked away into a secluded place, Marinette was gone, and Ladybug silently swung off into the night.

 

* * *

 

 

The next day was fairly nice – even for a Friday; the group presentation, which had already been fully organized, went by well. The only issue that Marinette saw was Adrien's noticeable fatigue. Both of them had met at the beginning of the day and agreed not to tell anyone about their 'date' last night, but Marinette could tell he was constantly thinking about it because of the frequent glances he gave her. The fact that he was actually looking at her – thinking about her… maybe she really could have a happy love life.

Then, at lunch, Alya made her move. Marinette knew her observant friend would notice the subtle glances passed between her and Adrien that day, but she hadn't expected her to propose, “Hey Marinette, since it's almost the weekend, you want to have a sleepover at my place tonight?”

“Well, of course; I was going to spend some time with you tomorrow night, but tonight is fine...” Marinette trailed off as she feared where this conversation might be going.

“Cool! But… do you mind if Nino comes as well? And Adrien, since they are best friends.” Alya winked. There it was.

“Ah- only if the boys themselves approve,” said Marinette, sweating nervously. 'Get a hold of yourself!' she scolded internally. 'You were practically on a date with him last night; you can handle this.'

“Hey, Nino, Adrien!” Alya called in their direction. “You guys up for a sleepover with the squad tonight?”

“You bet I am!” Nino called back enthusiastically. “Right, Adrien?”

But Adrien seemed quite out of it like he had all day; his beautiful green eyes stared off into space, and his face displayed a tranquil, lovestruck expression that reminded Marinette of how she felt when she thought of him.

_'Wait a minute…'_

“Sorry, what was that?” Adrien snapped out of his trance and turned to his friend.

“Alya's having a sleepover at her place tonight, and guess who's invited?”

“Marinette?” he blurted, as his eyes lit up at simply saying her name. “...and you and me, right?” he hastily added.

A knowing look appeared in the DJ's eyes. “Dude… we'll have this talk later. Anyway, can you make it to the sleepover?”

Marinette couldn't believe she was still listening to the boys' conversation, but she still couldn't stop herself.

“Probably. My schedule is never too busy on Friday nights. And how could I turn up the opportunity to spend time with people who matter so much to me?” His gaze involuntarily slid toward Marinette, who froze in her seat, her face reddening.

“That's good to know. We'll have a great time.” Nino smirked.

Marinette finally pulled herself out of the boys' conversation. As her next class neared, her mind boiled with confusion and shock.

_'Does he actually like me back!?'_

 

* * *

 

 

Adrien was only barely able to drag himself to school that day, now loaded with the knowledge that his Lady was, and would be, right behind him, and even presenting that group project with him.

He honestly couldn't believe that he had been so obsessed with Ladybug that he didn't even notice the amazing girl that she was as a civilian. Now that he knew, Marinette was so obviously Ladybug that he could barely look at her without losing his cool, which was something he really didn't want to do as Adrien. She had the same eyes as his Lady, and her smile, and those earrings she never removed, even her burning passion, though before it had seemed obscured by embarrassment or something when he was around. Maybe it was because his father was her fashion idol. But after the group project and their dinner together, she could at least talk to him now.

Every time he saw the true passion in her eyes when she was arguing with Chloe or deep in conversation with Alya, that same passion was what had inspired him since his first fight as Chat Noir. Her beautiful smile was the very same that Adrien had fallen in love with. He had found the other side of the love of his life, and he couldn't be happier.

Okay, maybe he was too happy. Maybe he should have paid more attention to his presentation rather than one of the girls he was presenting with. Maybe he should have actually studied for his finals. Maybe he should have tried to be a bit more subtle about it around Nino. None of that mattered to him now. He was going to have a sleepover with Marinette. Well, Mari, Nino, and Alya, but Marinette was the point.

 

* * *

 

 

“Okay, dude, spill.”

Adrien had been bracing himself for this moment almost the entire day at school, and now he still couldn't find the right words to respond to his friend.

“What exactly is going on with you and Marinette?” Nino pressed. “Because if you don't admit your sudden new crush on her, I'll have to make assumptions.”

“It's not like that!” Adrien protested. What was he saying; it was exactly like that. “I've just been thinking about her more ever since she started finally speaking coherently around me.”

Nino didn't look convinced.

“Okay, I may have a little thing for her,” confessed Adrien. _'How could I not; she's so amazing and beautiful when she saves Paris.'_ “But you can't let her know. It was less than a week ago that she began talking to me like a normal person; I still don't think she likes me that much.”

Nino's eyes widened. “Dude. You seriously don't know?”

“Know what?”

Nino shook his head, closely mirroring the time when Azervis had given Adrien the exact same gesture the day before. But what was it that he didn't know that everyone else did that caused this behavior? “You'd better go home and get ready for that sleepover party at Alya's,” Nino finally said. “If you're going, that is.”

“What? Oh, yeah, of course I'm going.” Adrien walked toward his waiting ride home. “But, I swear, if a word of this reaches Alya or Mari...”

“Fine, I'll keep my mouth shut. Don't worry. See you there!”

Adrien wondered if Nino would actually keep his mouth shut around Alya, and he already doubted it.

 

* * *

 

 

Marinette only briefly stopped at the bakery after school to call Chat Noir and tell him she wouldn't make it to patrol that night. After transforming, she made it to a nearby rooftop and called her partner.

He picked up surprisingly quickly, immediately saying, “Good afternoon, my Lady. I was about to tell you that we can cancel our patrol tonight.”

“Cancel it? Why?”

“Because we- I mean, because I can't make it tonight and decided that… I didn't want you doing it alone. You deserve a night off.”

“That's funny; I was about to tell you that I wouldn't be able to make it to patrol tonight. So, I guess it's canceled.”

“Okay, see you Sunday night then, my Lady.”

“Sounds good.” She shot him a smile before hanging up. There was something… different about Chat. He never struggled with words like that, and his tone suggested that he was keeping something from her. It was probably something that happened in his civilian life, though, and it would be wrong of her to ask him for personal information when she never shared any of her own.

Ladybug returned to her room and detransformed before heading over to Alya's. She needed some time with her friend before Adrien showed up and her composure would become ruined. Okay, she had definitely made progress with her crush with that group presentation, and the faux date… there was no way she was letting Alya know about the latter, though.

Alya was waiting in her room, preparing games, snacks, etc. when Marinette arrived, giving her friend an annoyed look.

“You just finished your group presentation with Adrien, and I know you need another excuse to spend time with him,” Alya explained before the question was asked. “You should thank me.”

“I swear you must have been the one who left the notes,” grumbled Marinette under her breath.

“What? Did you say 'notes'?” asked Alya. “Are you talking about that note you got a couple days ago? Did you show up? Who was it?”

“You weren't supposed to hear that,” said Marinette, rolling her eyes. “And no, I didn't go. Why would I show up for some creepy stalker?”

“But I thought I heard you say 'notes,' as in plural.” Alya narrowed her eyes. “What are you not telling me?”

“I wasn't telling you that I have a right to keep my secrets, but I am now,” responded Marinette with a smug grin that Ladybug would use when she came up with a plan. Of course, she had been keeping secrets from Alya for as long as they had been friends.

“Girl, since when do you smile like that? You totally showed up for your mystery date, didn't you? Was it someone famous? Come on, you can tell me.”

_'Have I actually never made that expression outside of the costume?,'_ Marinette asked herself, inwardly proud that she had been able to channel her inner Ladybug so naturally in civilian form. “What did I just say about my right to keep secrets?” she said aloud.

“Mari-nette,” Alya whined.

“I'm just teasing; I didn't show up.” Marinette laughed, trying to brush off the topic before Alya actually caught on. “But I did bring cookies.” Marinette used the opportunity to change the subject by showing off the box of sugar cookies her dad had given her to share with her friends.

“Good. I needed some more snacks.” Alya gave Marinette a suspicious look but did not return to the previous topic. “Now how about you help me clean up since you decided to show up before I was ready.”

Marinette hastily obliged; any way to escape from telling Alya about last night would do for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A reminder that I won't be posting new chapters as often because I've gotten back to working on my original story, One Boy's Destiny. I will still write and post chapters when I can, though.


	10. Sleepover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nino asked Adrien, “Truth or dare?”
> 
> “Truth,” said Adrien hesitantly.
> 
> “Tell me five things you like about Marinette.”
> 
> “Well...” Adrien glared at Nino, and a faint blush appeared on his cheeks. “She's creative, brave, strong, caring...” he nervously looked in her direction, “… and cute.”

Adrien and Nino had just arrived at Alya's, and Marinette was as ready for this as she could be. Her objective: learn as much about Adrien as possible now that she could speak properly in front of him.

Number One: Adrien was paying much more attention to her. He even seemed to be subtly flirting with her here and there, which surprised even Nino. Adrien was, in fact, actually very different from the 'perfect' impression Marinette had had of him for most of the school year.

Number two: Alya and Nino were trying to get the two of them to talk to each other alone like crazy, but there was never any talking while the two were alone. Adrien seemed on the verge of saying something to her, but he always hesitated before saying it while Marinette patiently waited for him to say that thing that he never ended up saying.

Finally, Nino and Alya returned and started watching a movie that lasted for the next 2.5 hours, after which Alya accidentally initiated a pillow fight when she tossed a spare pillow behind her while making her bed, which hit Nino in the head. Nino threw the pillow forcefully back at her.

“It's on.” Alya threw her pillow back at Nino, but when he dodged it, she ran around him and grabbed his glasses before running to retrieve the pillow.

He countered by grabbing the pillow first, taking back his glasses, and throwing it to Adrien, saying, “Get her.”

Marinette then understood why Nino had asked Adrien for help when the pillow hit Alya in the chest so hard that she stumbled back a couple steps.

Number four: Adrien was surprisingly strong and quick. When Marinette inevitably became involved in the play-fight, she was sure that her secret advantage given by her miraculous would make it an easy win for her, but Adrien was practically on equal ground with her throughout the event, which eventually became noisy enough to wake Alya's younger siblings. She was at least entranced enough by his unexpected grace that she accidentally skipped number three.

Alya and Nino grew exhausted relatively quickly and the fight ended without any evident victors.

Truth or dare came next, much to the dismay of Marinette, who had hated the game even before she became Ladybug. Alya asked Marinette first, “Truth or dare?”

“Truth,” answered Marinette, knowing it would be unwise to pick dare when Alya was involved.

“Tell me about exactly how close you and Ladybug are. I can tell there's at least some connection between you two.”

“Ladybug and I are… friends,” said Marinette. “We've talked a few times, not a huge deal. It's not like I know her identity or anything.”

“Damn. I was hoping you two would be close friends. Imagine if my best friend was close to Ladybug; that would be really awesome!”

Nino looked bored, and Adrien was uncharacteristically grinning. His face almost reminded Marinette of the cocky Chat Noir.

Marinette quickly asked Nino, who chose dare. She needed a good dare, some sort of revenge for the fact that he had lately been assisting Alya in her efforts to get Marinette and Adrien together. An idea popped into Marinette's head. “I dare you to kiss Alya in front of me and Adrien. On the mouth,” she specified with a triumphant grin.

“Seriously, girl?” Alya deadpanned.

“Do it,” said Adrien, joining Marinette with a grin of his own. Now he undeniably looked like Chat; his eyes were even a similar bright green.

And that was how Marinette and Adrien got to watch those scheming lovers kiss.

Immediately afterwards, Nino asked Adrien, “Truth or dare?”

“Truth,” said Adrien hesitantly.

“Tell me five things you like about Marinette.”

“Well...” Adrien glared at Nino, and a faint blush appeared on his cheeks. “She's creative, brave, strong, caring...” he nervously looked in her direction, “… and cute.” There was an awkward silence before Adrien turned to Alya and continued the game.

Adrien only picked dare from that point on, but it wasn't like Marinette noticed because _'Oh my god Adrien just called me cute.'_ She had pretty much been once again reduced to a stuttering mess, but she tried to hide it by talking as little as possible.

The four friends agreed that they would stay together until lunch the coming day, then they enjoyed a late dinner and watching another movie, which was even longer than the first. Near the end of the movie, Marinette's attention to it faded as she snuggled into the blankets around her and absorbed the warmth of Adrien and Alya, who sat on either side of her. It was all so perfect, almost surreal. Adrien was leaning against her…

 

* * *

 

 

Marinette awoke to much sharper realizations than she had had the previous night and was flooded with thoughts along the lines of, 'I actually have a chance with Adrien after all this time of hopeless obsession over him and…' That was when she noticed that Adrien was still asleep, his body pretty much nestled against hers. She didn't dare to move for fear of waking him, but instead listened to Nino's faint snoring until Alya silently awoke.

Sitting up and seeing Marinette's predicament, she gave her friend a thumbs-up and quietly left the room, and the wait began again.

Finally, Adrien awoke and immediately drew away from Marinette, blushing furiously. “I'm so sorry! How long-”

“It's fine,” said Marinette. “But thanks for the concern.”

“Could you two maybe quiet down?” grumbled Nino. “I need some more time.”

Marinette glanced at Adrien before leaving to join Alya, hoping as much as she could that no akuma attack would happen and ruin her amazing day.

The good news: There was no akuma attack before lunch, so the picnic at the park was enjoyable and pleasant despite the fact that her over-excitement about Adrien had died down by then.

After lunch, Nino and Alya left Marinette and Adrien alone using the typical 'because we're dating' excuse. Adrien talked about his hard life with his strict father and tight schedule, while Marinette did her best to comfort him. Adrien was saying, “You know, Mari, there's been something I've been meaning to tell you-” That was when it happened.

The bad news: That was when the attack happened. The nearby sound of panic and destruction cut off what Adrien was saying. He then spoke up, “Quickly, find a place to hide,” and ran off.

Silently thanking Adrien for making it easy on her, Marinette ran off to transform.

 

* * *

 

 

One defeated akuma later, and Marinette was back together with her friends. Unfortunately, it was now too late for them to spend any more time together; they all should have been back home by this point. Marinette was certainly disappointed that her time with Adrien was over, but she knew and accepted that her good luck wasn't infinite.

Marinette was still thinking about Adrien when she received a text from Renee, probably about the akuma she had just defeated; honestly having someone knowing her identity both worried and relieved her. It read:

**'Nice job out there 8/10'**

**'Why not 10/10? :/'** Marinette texted back.

**'Ur still playing with Chat and I'm here waiting 4 things 2 get serious ;)'**

Marinette rolled her eyes, quickly typing back, **'Haven't I told you that there's nothing special between me and Chat?'**

**'I know you like him even if u don't know it yourself ;)'**

**'Sorry gtg schedule my next date with Adrien, bye :)'** Marinette sighed and put down the phone. She knew she hadn't gotten that far with Adrien yet, but she really needed to prove to Renee that her heart belonged to only one boy, even if she had found herself liking Chat Noir more than usual these days. She wasn't going to abandon Adrien because of some silly feelings, though. And she definitely wasn't going to tell Renee about her tiny crush on Chat because if that girl got any more hope of her ship becoming canon, she would probably be even worse than Alya.

Marinette was about to resume work on her latest design when her phone buzzed again. She groaned, expecting a late response from Renee, but instead she got Adrien.

**'I'm really sorry about the interruption at lunch; I asked my dad if I could maybe spend any time with you tomorrow, but he has the whole day scheduled. Sorry :('**

Marinette smiled with glee. Adrien actually wanted to spend time with her! It didn't even matter that much to her that she wouldn't be able to see him until school on Monday; he liked her!

**'That's okay, thanks for thinking about me though :)'** she sent back.

Before she put down her phone again, Marinette realized she had missed a text, which just happened to be Renee's late reply.

**'Mirra says you and your Chat form one of the most ridiculously oblivious miraculous duos she's known'**

“My, I have such supportive friends,” Marinette groaned sarcastically before slapping her phone down on her desk and resuming work on her latest design.

 

* * *

 

 

“Oh god, Mari probably thinks I'm some sort of stalker,” moaned Adrien in his room. “Why did I have to send her that text?”

“I couldn't care less about your stupid human romance; don't you go asking me for advice,” muttered Plagg. “What are you even doing, trying to force your way as close as possible to her as a _civilian?_ Maybe she wouldn't think of you as a stalker if it was her trusted partner talking to her. Oh, wait, I just gave you advice, didn't I? Nevermind.”

“Wait, you have a point there, but it's not like she's ever felt anything for Chat. Why did I have to find out her identity like this. She'll probably be angry when she finds out I know.” He sat up. “I really shouldn't be playing with her like this when she doesn't know. If only that akuma hadn't interrupted me at lunch. I want to tell her in person, not through my phone, but I don't want to wait until Monday.”

“So you're not going to tell her during your next patrol tomorrow night?” asked Plagg.

“Oh! I forgot about that after we had to cancel our Friday night patrol. That's it! I'm telling her who I am, during tomorrow night's patrol.”

Plagg sighed in response to the teen's enthusiasm.

“I'm going to tell her,” Adrien repeated quietly.

 

* * *

 

 

Chat Noir had arrived to patrol ten minutes early to prepare himself for his confession. Frankly, he had prepared himself so much throughout the day that there was not much preparing left to do, so he ended up staring absently at the moon until his Lady arrived.

“Early, are we, kitty?” said Ladybug from behind him, startling him.

“Of course, my Lady, I have something very important to tell you...”

“If it's an extra cheesy pun, I swear...”

“Tonight, I shall withhold my meow-velous puns just for you,” he said politely.

“Then what is it?”

“Well, since I love you very much and want nothing more than to be with you, I've decided to tell you something important...”

“Please, don't,” responded Ladybug.

Chat turned to her with shock and realized that she was looking down with regret.

“Look, I'm really sorry Chat, and I really do care about you, but there's someone else… I've been hopelessly crushing on him for a while now, never believing I had a chance, but recently, things have changed...” she looked up slightly. “I do love you Chat, but I've made so much progress with the other boy… that I can't just abandon him. I'm just making sure I don't give you any false hope, so I can make this easier for the both of us. I just wanted you to know that before you told me something really personal.”

Chat took a slow step back, trying to recover himself in a composed manner. After all that had happened between them, after all the progress he had made with Ladybug – with Marinette - as Chat and as Adrien, there was still someone else… she had probably spent all that day hanging out with that someone. As if she would ever fall for one as silly and dorky as him.

“I'm really sorry, Chat,” said Ladybug gently, her words laced with sympathy. “Here, you can go home and recover… I'll patrol for you if you want.”

Chat Noir nodded weakly, turning tail and leaping as quickly as he could toward his home. He would probably explode if he didn't get any rest. His mind immediately began to go over who he could end up with if not Ladybug. Before, he would have immediately thought of Marinette, but Marinette was actually the same person as Ladybug because of course the two most amazing girls he knew had to be the same. He had been so broken by her… rejection, that he had all but forgotten the plan in which he was going to tell her who he was; it wasn't like her knowing would help anyway, not when there was probably someone amazing out there who was lucky enough to receive her love.

Chat practically tumbled into his room and detransformed, ready to pass out and attempt to sleep away his emotional pain.

“Adrien?” the door to his room opened to reveal the man he least wanted to see. “What was that light? Why are you still awake?”

_'Shit.'_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uggh I actually have no frickin clue how to write romance. I don't know why I am doing this to myself. I am also bad at writing fluff because my mind craves plot so every time I try to write a fluffy chapter it turns out bad. Next chap I will enforce my author's rights so don't be mad when it happens.


	11. Update

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not an actual chapter.

This is just a quick apology for not posting any chapters in a while. I had an unexpected hiatus on this story for various reasons, such as...

A few weeks ago I watched ATLA and TLOK for the first time ever and I'm still losing my mind over it.

I've also been working a lot more on my original story, One Boy's Destiny.

Additionally, this story has just seemed less interesting to me lately. It will probably grow on me again after a good break.

And, of course, not that many people are reading this trashy story anyway.

That's all for now. I'll remove this once I get to posting the next chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I might as well link you to my equally trashy original story while I'm at it. (It's about dragons. I am a big sucker for dragons.)  
> http://arcstories.tumblr.com/tagged/one-boy%27s-destiny  
> Read at your own risk.

**Author's Note:**

> I have a writing blog on tumblr where I post my original stories but I decided to post this here because it's my top secret fandom trash and my first fanfic and I still really wanted to post it. BTW I'm bad at writing fanfic so I apologize in advance if any of the characters seem a bit OOC.


End file.
